MovieChat Forums > Rebecca (1980) Discussion > questions

questions

posted 14 years ago by cat68
3 replies | jump to latest

Why doesn't Mrs. De Winter have a first name? Her husband calls her "Darling" or "My love" all the time, but it would be normal to have her first name mentioned at least once, wouldn't it?

I saw the movie in the early 80s, and I have a distinct memory of Mrs. Danvers appearing in a window on the upper floor when the mansion was on fire. It was implied that she set fire to Manderley and then committed suicide by staying inside. But in the copy I recently bought that scene did not exist. Did it ever exist, or was it in another version of the movie? Or maybe in the novel?

Did anyone else have difficulties seeing Jeremy Brett as anyone else than Sherlock Holmes? I kept expecting Dr. Watson to appear any second...

[–] Mkeydude 14 years ago

The fact that she had no first name struck me half way through the Hitchcock version of the movie. No one referred to her by first name, not even her employer/companion.

The scene you describe of Mrs. Danvers in the burning house is the Hitchcock version done in the 40s. This version of "Rebecca" only adds more mystery by Mrs. Danvers's sudden departure and yet never being seen leaving the grounds of the estate.

Jeremy Brett was a chameleon in the characters he played. I had no clue he played Freddie in "My Fair Lady" or Maxim De Winter in "Rebecca" until I saw him interviewed while doing the "Sherlock Holmes" series which he did long after playing Maxim De Winter.

[–] perorewen 14 years ago

Mkeydude is correct about your second question. About your first, well... my opinion is that it streanghtens our impression of her self-esteem (or her lacking thereof). A name would give her an identity, and a personality - things she feels she lacks.

The book mentions that her name is very beautiful (Max' opinion) and in English standards original. That is, aparently it was difficult for fellow English to spell it right - so it must have been special. Would this "exotic" name also underline how her sense of being out of place? Or did she feel it was to pretty and sophisticated for her?

**********
- Who's the lady with the log?
- We call her the Log Lady.

[–] CrazyBe 14 years ago

Daphne Du Marier the author of the novel intenionally didn't give her a name because she wanted ot emphasise how much of a prescence Rebecca had in their life and marriage. In essence, Rebecca was the lead character even though she was dead and that was an important aspect of building the story's eerie atmosphere. I also think (my extra interperetation) is that she wanted to show the second Mrs De Winter as being naive and forever in Rebecca's shadow but also kept in the dark with regards to the truth about Rebecca and Maxim.