DuMaurier & Austen By; Jenni Gilbert

Daphne DuMaurier

The Author of the novel Rebecca is Daphne DU Maurier. Daphne DU Maurier was born in She came from a wealthy and successful family. Her father, Gerald, was the most famous actor/manager of his time. She started to write short stories in 1928 at the age of 21, but it wasn’t until three years later that her first novel ‘The Loving Spirit’ was published. Her most famous novels are ‘Jamaica Inn’, ‘Frenchman’s Creek’, and the novel I have read ‘Rebecca’. DU Maurier typically wrote either romantic novels or gothic novels, sometimes in Rebecca’s case a little bit of both. In 1969 Daphne was being named a Dame of the British Empire. She then died 20 years later in 1989.

Rebecca In the novel Rebecca by Daphne DU Maurier, there is a lady who is reminiscing on a place called Manderley. She then goes on to speak about how Manderley is no more. Manderley is a country estate in England that gets burned down. A lady and her husband used to live there and for the first couple of chapters it is her reminiscing her life there. They then go on to tell you about his first wife Rebecca who had drowned in a cove the previous year and her ghost supposedly haunts their home. His new wife feels incompatible with Rebecca because she was beautiful, and smart, and she believes he is still in love with her. There is a ball held at Manderley every year and this year Maxim’s wife accidently dresses in the same outfit that Rebecca wore last year. Later on a ship has run aground on the cove, when people arrive to see it they find Rebecca’s boat with Rebecca’s dead body in it. After seeing this Maxim decides to tell his wife the truth about how Rebecca was a vicious woman, a cheater. One of the men she cheated on was Maxim’s own cousin Jack Favell. Then one night when Maxim demands a divorice from Rebecca she refuses and tells him that she is pregnant with Jack’s child. This really sets Maxim off and he takes a gun out and shoots her. He then takes her body onto her boat and sinks it in the sea. This makes her feel better about her and Maxim’s marriage. The coroner says that Rebecca probably drilled the holes as a form of suicide, but Jack who knows that she would not want to commit suicide declares that Maxim did it. They look at the doctor reports from the day of the killing and find out that Rebecca was not pregnant and that she was actually dying from cancer, in fact she was infertile. This makes them think that it was indeed suicide. On their way back home they find out that the maid has disappeared and when the cross the crest they look down and find the house engulfed in flames.

Foreshadowing Foreshadowing is a way of indicating or hinting at what will come later. One example of this is that the wife of Maxim is never given a name. They always call her the heroine but they tell you the name of his late wife Rebecca which reflects the fact that she is inferior to her.

Repetition Repetition is something happening again and again An example of this in the book is with the opening line when the narrator says “last night I dreamt I went to Manderley”, The very first line is going to set the theme for the whole book how she is dreaming of this place but something is keeping her from being able to go back there.

Irony Irony is a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated This is found mainly in the beginning of the book when you are made to think the Maxim is still very in love with his ex- wife Rebecca when that is not the case at all, because later on in the book you find out that he’s actually the one who killed her.

Bad- The book was very very long. Good-I would recommend this book to anyone who likes stories with a little suspense and a few twist and turns.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen author of sense and sensibility was born on December 16 th, Jane’s father was a reverend, and she was the 7 th sibling to be born. At the age of eight Jane was sent to boarding school with her sister. When Jane returned home she furthered her education by reading some of the books that her father had from the church. In 1789 Jane wrote her first almost novel which was titled Love and Friendship. Not too long after that she published her first draft of Pride and Prejudice in In the year 1802 Jane received a marriage proposal from Mr. Bigg- Wither. She says yes. Shortly after that in 1805 Jane’s father falls ill which ends in a tragic death. In 1811 the first copy of Sense and Sensibility is published and is sold out completely by In May of 1817 Jane falls ill and by July 18 th of 1817 Jane Austen is pronounced dead.

Sense and Sensibility The novel is opened with the death of Mr. Henry Dashwood. Mr. Dashwood’s inheritance goes to his sons who are already wealthy and little is left to his daughters. Feeling like strangers in their own home the Dashwood girl’s move out to a limit budget house. They then leave that house to meet the owners of Barton Park. Upon meeting them a gentleman by the name of Willoughby starts to like one of the sisters, Marianne. Suddenly without notice Willoughby packs up and leaves to go to London without any notice. This leaves Marianne crushed. Not too long after that Marianne is invited to go to London with Mrs. Jennings. While staying in London she writes to Willoughby but her letters go unreturned. Until one day when she sees him on the arm of another lady. This leaves her feeling crushed. She then learns that he seduced a young girl only to leave her penniless and pregnant and that he is now actually married to the girl that he was seen with the other day. They head back to Barton Park and while there Marianne falls ill. This is when Willoughby confesses that he went back to London to break the engagement off with the other girl but while he was there he got the call about the foster child he left pregnant and in order to maintain his wealth he had to marry her. He says that the nasty letters written were actually by his wife and hat her was still in love with Marianne. Marianne gets well and the two go back to Barton Park. They then soon wed and live happily together only a few minutes away from his ex-wife.

Symbolism Symbolism is when the author uses an object or reference to add deeper meaning to a story. Money plays a role when Willoughby decides to marry a lady that he doesn’t truly love in order to maintain his wealth.

Irony Irony is a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated Willoughby tells Marianne that he isn’t in love with her and goes and marries someone else. When really Marianne is the one that he loves and he is only with his wife for the money.

Bad- Very confusing to read Good- Nothing really I mean if you like love stories and like to try and understand what they are saying in this book go ahead and read it.

Works Cited "Author's Craft - Narrative Elements - Foreshadowing." UDL Editions by CAST. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May < "Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May &. "What is Symbolism in Literature? - Life123." Articles and Answers about Life - Life123. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May "wiki." wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May <.