I don’t have the book at home so the

quotes’s pages aren’t mentioned

Have you ever felt like you need to be someone that you’re not? Mask
yourself? Change yourself to feel loved? In “Rebecca” Daphne Du
Maurier guides you through the life of a young woman who tries to fit in.
The narrator feels that she has to be someone else to feel like she
belongs but after the truth unfolds, she is not scared anymore reminding
us that we shouldn’t change ourselves to be loved.

The narrator feels compared to Rebecca from the very beginning. Mrs.
Danvers was the first to compare her, at least that’s how she feels, like
she says “But I never dared ask Mrs. Danvers what she did about it. She
would have looked at me in scorn, smiling that freezing, superior smile
of hers, and I can imagine her saying: “There were never any complaints
when Mrs. de Winter was alive.” (chap.2) when she first meets Mrs.
Danvers which is not a good start mainly because she is going to live
with her. I think the narrator feels very insecure even before she meets
Mrs. Danvers which is understandable consider the fact that she had
married a “stranger”, but Mrs. Danvers gives her the feeling of
insecureness , of not being good enough, of needing to fill Rebecca’s
spot perfectly. In my opinion that was the moment when she first
realizes that she “has” to change herself if she wants to be loved. After
meeting Mrs. Danvers for the first time, she meets Beatrice Lacy,
Maxim’s sister, for the first time and one of the very first things she says
is “You see,” she said, snapping the top, and walking down the stairs,
“you are so very different from Rebecca.” (chap.9) Again- not a very
good start. She meets her husband’s sister for the first time, with intent
to impress her, to make her love her, I’m sure and instead she is being
compared to Rebecca that everyone loved. I think that Beatrice made
her feel so insecure that now she has no other option than “become
Rebecca”, to change herself and be somebody she is not.
The narrator keep feeling like people In Manderly are comparing and
talking about her behind her back. An example for that is in chapter 11
when she says “I wondered why I minded that, and why the thought of
the servants talking about me in the kitchen should cause me such
distress. It must be that I had small mean mind, a conversational, pretty
hatred of gossip. Mrs. The winter is exstremely preoccupied with the
judgments that workers and servants might be making about her. She
feels not safe. She feels surrounded. She doesn’t have a happy place, she
doesn’t have an exit, a way to escape. She is stuck in a place full of
people talking about her all the time, and not in a flattering way.
 The narrator starts to change herself and become more like Rebecca.
For instance when Mrs. Danvers called the narrator when she was in the
morning room: “who is it?” I said, “who do you want?”
There was a strange buzzing at the end of the line, and then a voice
came, low and rather harsh, whether that of a woman or a man I could
not tell, and “Mrs. de Winter?” it said, “Mrs. de Winter?”
“I'm afraid you have made a mistake,” I said; “Mrs. de Winter has been
dead for over a year.” (chap.8) As we can see the narrator starts
“forgetting” herself and becoming someone else. I think that all she
could think about was Rebecca that for a moment she forgot herself in
the picture. I also think that for a moment she had some second
thoughts about the marriage and the life in Manderly. She doesn’t say
this in a clearly way but this is what I understand from her actions.
Another example is this conversation between the narrator and Mrs.
Danvers: “Why should you hate me?” I asked; “what have I ever done to
you that you should hate me?”
“You tried to take Mrs. de Winter's place,” she said.” (chap.18). Mrs.
Danvers is very loyal to Rebecca and hates the idea of Maxim with a new
wife. Especially when the new wife tries to be like Rebecca. to be
honest, I think that Mrs. Danvers is quite selfish. I don’t think that Mrs.
Danvers has such problem with the narrator taking Rebecca’s place. I
think she’s scared that the narrator will take her place in Maxim’s heart
but the narrator doesn’t get it so she tries to change herself to make
someone that she knows that will never like her. I think that the narrator
won’t accept the fact that people don’t love her which is totally okay but
she still, don’t get it and that is why she tries so hard. The fact that Mrs.
Danvers noticed that the narrator tries to take Rebecca’s place tells us
that the narrator really did try to change herself.
Another example is in chapter 12, when Maxim and the narrator were in
the happy valley and then Maxim said “you looked older”. She thought
he would like that but apparently he didn’t. she thought he would like it
because he is 40 and she is 20 but Rebecca is older, she tried being like
Rebecca because she thought he would love her better that way.

The narrator finally found out the truth about Maxim and Rebecca. she
finally found out that Maxim loves her and not Rebecca. loves her for
who she is. Young, quiet, introverted, over thinking and all the “flews”
that he can see as the beautiful stuff. She finally takes off the mask. The
big thick mask she’s been wearing for a long time now and just being
herself without all the lies and insecurities. We can see that when she
says ““Yes,” I said, “my sweet, my love.” But I looked away from him so
he should not see my face. What did it matter whether understood him
or not? My heart was light like a feather floating in the air. He had never
loved Rebecca”
Another example for the reason for the narrator standing for herself is in
chapter 20 when she realizes that Maxim loves her and not Rebecca and
she says “I will give the orders about the lunch,” she said. She waited a
moment. I did not say anything. Then she went out of the room. She
can't frighten me anymore, I thought. She has lost her power with
Rebecca” this is the first time she gives Mrs. Danvers a direct order by
herself, with no help from Maxim or Frank. With no fear. Now that
Maxim loves her, he will always be on her side. She also keeps he’s
biggest secret she knows that he trusts her.

You can never fill someone’s spot perfectly. You can never lose or forget
this big part of yourself, no matter how much you try. You can never
know what’s behind people’s smiles, behind “perfect” life. No one is
perfect, but when you are yourself you are the closest to perfect that
you could ever be. Don’t change yourself to be loved. The people that
truly love you, will love you for who you are!