While our idea of romantic fiction implies that everyone deserves and can get love, love stories

present a different picture.

- Love stories, boundaries of love, the steps towards a healthy marriage,

Daphne Du Maurier’s, Rebecca, explores the love life of two characters, and the secrets each hold
within the walls of Manderly. Although many aspect of the story includes insight into their married
life this isn’t always in a positive light. Daphne Du Maurier presents the characters with a series of
barriers, challenges from a patriarchal society and people around them.

Rebecca presents a picture of, apart from love, the difficulties that are found among a couple. Du
Maurier does this by expressing boundaries faced between two individuals in a relationship.
Although it is implied that there is love between Maxim and Mrs De Winter, Du Maurier presents an
ex-wife in order to show societies boundaries for women, as well as power imbalance between
husband and wife. In the quote “They came because they wanted to compare me to Rebecca.”
(p.141), the authour positions us to see the barrier between Maxim and Mrs De Winter’s love. The
use of the pronoun ‘they’ alludes to society at the time as well as the people in Maxim’s close
friends of wealthy solicatietes. This importantly stresses the expectations that the New Mrs De
Winter needs to uphold. This is seen to tear a barrier in between their love. “I broke the cupid in the
morning room” (page 165). Alludes to the barrier in between their love. The breaking of the cupid is
a metaphor for the love at first sight coming to an end. Traditionally, the symbol of cupid is used to
represent shot through the heart with love, or in other words, love at first sight. When Mrs De
Winter boke this symbol of love, it shows that the fairytale love at the beginning of the marriage has
ended. This gives a indirect indication to the audience that secrets will begin to come out as well as
challenges between the two ‘lovers’.Daphne Du Maurier uses this metaphor to imply that love isn’t
as straight forward as seen in fairy tale stories, but rather throws ups and downs.

Du Maurier presents the audience with challenges faced by two lovers as they conquer the
patriarchy in society, and the void this causes in between them. Throughout the novel, we are
presented with the mystical character of Rebecca, the ex-wife. Rebecca’s character is a metaphor
in its self for fighting the patrichaical society. A perfect, idealistic woman that continues to fight for
her rights in a discret, yet impacting way, which can be seen to create a rift between Maxim and
Mrs DW. “She began to laugh. She went on laughing.” -pg 313 This is a perfect example of a
metaphor for her making fun of the patriarchy. Men, in society are wanted to be seen as strong
powerful figures, not to the laughed at by their wives. This demonstrates the courage she had and
how she seized patriarchy hands on. This caused a disruption in the perfect love story that
romantic fiction, or Rebecca, usually demonstrates. This is can be seen to be reflected in Mrs De
Winter’s self doubt and fight against the imaginary Rebecca, a woman idealistic to society, able to
run a household as well as perform other ‘wifely tasks.’ HELPPPPP

In conclusion, Du Maurier poses the audience to view Rebecca as a romantic fiction novel that has
created boundaries between characters in order to overcome larger complications faced by society.
Du Maurier does this in a romantic novel to express the deep impacts of these challenges and also
to subvert commonly know romantic storylines.