I was under the impression that it’s been a long time since I read Rebecca, but turns out it was just four years! But because I watched the Alfred Hitchcock adaptation of the book and wanted to refresh my memory. Plus, I found a copy of Rebecca for 1 euro and it’s autumn so I was in the mood for this.

Since this is my third (or maybe even fourth) time reading this book, I’m not going to give an overview (tl;dr – the protagonist is jealous of her husband’s dead wife, the truth will leave you speechless) or try to review the book as a whole. Instead, I want to focus on how my opinions might have changed since the last time I read it.

I’ve got to say that this time, I can sympathise with the feelings of the protagonist a lot more. If I remember correctly, I’ve always felt she was a bit silly and naive and that led me to dismiss her feelings. But for some reason, the narrative voice this time was just so earnest and innocent that I really felt her jealousy. It’s irrational and she knows that, but at the same time, she can’t stop feeling the way she does.

On a related note, I have also realised how predatory this relationship is! Not only is Maxim de Winter almost twice as old as the protagonist, he basically only likes her because of how naive she is and that is why she suffers so much emotionally. This reread, I noticed some red flags at the start of the novel – like how he’s so dismissive of her and how patronising he is. Mild spoiler alert, but there comes a point later n the novel where Maxim basically says that “It’s gone forever, that funny, young, lost look that I loved.” The way I read it, Maxim’s “funny, young, lost look” was the protagonist feeling out of her depth at Manderly and suffering from a crippling sense of insecurity where she always lost to Rebecca. And at the moment she gains the knowledge to move past this, he says she lost what he loved. It feels like he liked having her ignorant and so dependent on him because it was the opposite of Rebecca and that is just so suspicious to me.

Finally, I’ve found two new side characters that I appreciate more now! One is Frank, who is more supportive than Maxim in practical and emotional terms and seems to be an overall dependable guy. The other is Beatrice, who is so straightforward and practical that I wish the protagonist confided in her. I like how Beatrice did her best to choose a thoughtful wedding present and present help the way she knew how, and it’s a pity that the protagonist didn’t manage to form a friendship with her.

Overall, I enjoyed this atmospheric and tragic novel. The writing is absolutely gorgeous without being purple prose and I really appreciate how I have new takeaways every time I read it.

P.s. This has nothing to do with the book BUT I brought this to read while on the way to meet a friend for a hike, so I snapped a picture of the book in the wilderness! But the hike at Mont Gros was really beautiful so I wanted to share some pictures with you too!