REBECCA // codependency, relatableness, moody mansion, and a rich husband

HAVE

TALKED

ABOUT

REBECCA

ENOUGH

??????

My gosh, yes, I am obsessed with this book. I can’t quite explain it, except that it was so insightful and relatable and had this ominous tone that I couldn’t put my finger on. I had already watched the movie when it released on Netflix, not knowing it was originally a book, but despite knowing the end I still got chills and was overall HOOKED. That’s the sign of a gem!

If you haven’t read this book yet and want to, you might want to skip this post because SPOILER ALERT! I just can’t explain how much I loved this book without revealing key information.

An entertaining one-sentence summary

A nameless ladies’ companion falls in love with a rich, mysterious man while on vacation and ends up marrying him and going back home with him sounds perfect right NO THE LEGIT GHOST OF HIS DEAD WIFE HAUNTS THE HOUSE and the girl discovers that maybe being married to this dude isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be because he’s just this grumpy middle-aged man struggling to get over his previous wife…

MORE ENTERTAINING SUMMARIES

Very detailed descriptions of flowers

Scary maid intent on sabotaging the new Mrs. de Winter

Codependency

Dressing up

Balls

BEATRICE — oh my gosh we stan Beatrice, she’s a bit too blunt but she gives comic relief

Narcissism

Trick marriages

Beautiful description of the landscape surrounding Manderley

Feeling too much like a child, incompetent, incapable

CHARACTERS

Mrs. de Winter (hereby referred to as MC, as in Main Character)

First off, I LOVED that she was never named. It subtle-y and artfully showed how she felt invisible and incapable.
As I was reading this, I was also reading a book about being codependent. GUYS—poor MC, this gal is SO co-dependent. See the quotes below for proof.
I so so so related to this character. I moved out to LA, freshly 21, and I tended to feel incapable. I couldn’t pick out insurance, pay my bills on time, make doctors appointments, let alone excel at my job. Looking at all the 30-year-olds surrounded me, I tended to feel like a fake adult, Just as MC did. See the quotes below, these resonated the most with me.

Maxim de Winter

Idk, do we like this man???? He asked MC to marry him without ever telling her he loved her. Like, COME ON. She’s over here, a sweet summer child, drooling over him and freely telling him how much he means to her and he’s just like . . . hey don’t ever wear black velvet bc I get triggered and hey wanna come live with me?
I can understand that his grief and remorse is (literally) haunting him, but that’s NEVER a reason to treat another person like trash. If you aren’t in a place you can love someone in a respectful way, you should be mature enough to not enter a relationship of ANY kind (let alone a marriage). PEOPLE. ARE. NOT. LIFE. PRESERVERS. He treats MC so so poorly and yet she’s so codependent that she immediately blames herself and absolves him of any guilt.

Mrs. Danvers

SO. SO. CREEPY. ACK!!
I love that I got such a clear visual of Mrs. Danvers from the book. She gave me this VIBE of darkness, and her passionate, obsessive loyalty to Rebecca (even after her death) gives me absolute chills. This is the gothic romance thriller subject matter that I live for!

Rebecca

Narcissist for DAYSSSSS! Narcissists are famous for showing the world one image, but being a totally different person at home. They can’t feel normal human emotions, but they’re very good at studying emotion and then displaying it like an actor so most people aren’t any the wiser. Rebecca acted like the perfect wife, kind to animals and humans alike, a gracious host, everything one should be . . . but in reality, she was a monster, beating animals into submission (i.e. she tamed a horse). She also knew how to manipulate people, using men as objects and laughing at how devoted they became to her. She didn’t love any of the men she slept with . . . it was all a game to her. Even to the end, she manipulated Maxim into killing her by insinuating she was pregnant with Favell’s child. DESPICABLE!

OVERALL SUMMARY

This book is OCTOBER VIBES. If you want a cozy read with creepy vibes, immersive descriptions of landscapes, well-rounded characters, and even a couple laughs, this is the book for you! This is the kind of book that I would happily pay $20 to reread like it’s the first time. Unfortunately, such a service hasn’t been invented yet.

This book is relatable to anyone who struggles to feel capable or like they fit in.

It can also be super revealing for people who struggle with being codependent. As you read the book, you can get frustrated with MC because as an outsider, her codependency is SO TRAGIC and SO OBVIOUS. But when you’re the one being codependent, you can feel like a saint-victim combo. Honestly, this book was super enlightening to me. No one has the power to make you feel a certain way or do anything. How people understand you is not your responsibility. In fact, other people are NOT your responsibility. Period. We’re all responsible for our ACTIONS and our ATTITUDES. That’s it, end of story.