I think all of us remember the first time we went to Manderley.
Manderley – the house of dreams. With dozens upon dozens of elegant rooms, rose bushes caressing its weathered stone walls, open terraces leading out to the boundless sea.
Shadows of the past linger there, beckoning us to this gothic tale once more.
What begins as a blissful whirlwind romance for our timid, nameless heroine (Joan Fontaine) becomes a living nightmare as she realizes the deep hold her husband’s (Laurence Olivier) late wife continues to have over him, his palatial estate – Manderley, and all who live there.
Adapted for the big screen by David O. Selznick from the best selling novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Rebecca (1940) is an atmospheric masterpiece of both storytelling and filmmaking.
The teaming of Selznick and Hitchcock is the stuff of legend. Books have been written about their tumultuous working relationship and differing approaches to filming and editing.
The point cannot be argued that the clashing of these two titans produced meticulous attention to detail, nuanced beauty, and a focus on creating strong, unforgettable characters.
In glorious black and white, we see a world of both darkness and light.
The darkness is personified by the creepily restrained, calculating Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) and the ghostly presence of Rebecca. Though we never see the titular character, we viscerally feel her dominating every frame of the film.
From Franz Waxman’s eerie, otherworldly cues, to the words of praise heaped upon her by doting friends, and the home she so beautifully decorated and maintained, Rebecca is inescapable, while elusive, yet sees and knows all.
When we meet the future second Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) she is a shy, lovely young lady, though burdened by a demeaning employer. Through her marriage to Maxim she feels insignificant and unwanted, living in the looming shadow of her predecessor. Mrs. Danvers only confirms this notion with her devious schemes.
Then secrets begin to unravel and Fontaine’s character grows in confidence and maturity, but life at Manderley can never be the same again.
If I had to sum up the theme of Rebecca in one word it would be “fear.” Simply because our leading lady, the second Mrs. de Winter, encounters it at every corner and from many angles. The fear of being unloved, fearing the limits of your emotional strength, the fear of making mistakes, fearing for your safety and sanity.
But unlike Mrs. Danvers, who is hopelessly tied to the past, choosing to stay there in death, the second Mrs. de Winter looks ever forward, mustering her strength towards a bright future and ultimately, chooses life.
These very primal matters at its core make Rebecca powerful and resonant nearly a century later.
May she continue to haunt us for centuries to come.
This post is my contribution to the A Haunting Blogathon: In the Afterlife hosted by the Classic Movie Blog Association. Enjoy the haunting offerings here!
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