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Rebecca, a classic suspense novel written by Daphne Du Maurier is considered one of the finest Gothic romance of the 20 th century. It was first published in 1938, and became immediate best seller. Alfred Hitchcock gave it a yet wider audience when he made it into a memorable motion picture. Starring Laurence Oliver as Maxim de Winter and Joan Fontaine as Mrs. de Winter, the black and white version of the movie, was based on the book.
The book and the movie are not very much alike, in fact, they are in several ways different. Nonetheless, most of the movie followed the book closely, however, many important scenes from the book were not presented in the movie version. Moreover, some details that made the book very interesting to read, were absent in the movie. Therefore, the book was more interesting and enjoyable due to its detailed Gothic settings and the suspense that made reader part of it. The book is about a young, shy girl who worked as a paid companion for a wealthy woman, Mrs.
Van Hopper. On their trip to Monte Carlo the narrator met Maxim de Winter, one of the wealthiest people in England. Maxims late wife, Rebecca was said to be drowned in the sea while sailing. Thus, he wanted to find a new wife who could make the Manderley, Maxims huge and Gothic estate, lively again.
Finally over a short period of time they got married and left Monte. After their honeymoon in Venice they went to Manderley where mystery and loneliness awaited the new Mrs. de Winter. Maxims housekeeper, the evil Mrs. Danvers was adore of dead Rebecca and did not want anyone taking the place of her. Consequently, she tried to get rid of the narrator.
Rebecca's presence was felt everywhere. Anything the narrator touched, anything she did she felt dead Rebecca's soul haunting her. One day divers found the capsized boat in which Rebecca drowned. After investigation the evidence showed that she was killed and the boat was intentionally sunk. Maxim and Rebecca were not happy living together, and they always had tension between them, because Rebecca always had lovers other than Max. Who could have done it?
The evidence strongly pointed at Maxim. The only thing that he and his new wife could do was to come up with a motive to show that Rebecca committed suicide. They did, because Rebecca's doctor had records that she was diagnosed with cancer. At the end of the story Mrs. Danvers set Manderley on fire, because she could not stand Maxim and his new wife living happily together. The book and the movie follow same story quite well.
They have many similarities in common. For example, they both start with the scene of the long twisted driveway leading to the ruins of Manderley. Another similarity is the part where Mrs. Van Hopper, the narrator and Maxim first meet and have coffee together. Their dialogue in this scene is identical to the book, and also the setting described in the book is represented on the movie quite well. The part where the narrator accidently knocks of the vase during the breakfast is clearly illustrated in the movie as well as in the book.
The characters of Maxim and Mrs. de Winter are well presented the way they are in the novel. For instance, the narrator is shown as a shy young girl with low self esteem throughout the movie exactly the way it is described in the book. Also in both the movie and the book Mrs. Danvers is clearly portrayed as very evil and spooky character.
Reading the book one can clearly visualize her character through Du Maurier description, as it was clearly presented in the movie. In addition, the scene where Mrs. de Winter prepares her costume for the dance ball that she arranged, was identical to that of described in the book. Although, many instances in the movie are very similar to the book, the novel gives the reader fuller understanding and better mental picture of the settings and characters.
Despite some similarities in the movie that closely followed the book, there are also numerous differences between the two. Hitchcock mostly focuses on the main story, and does not emphasize many important details that make the story a little different. For instance the movie begins with Maxim standing on the cliff looking down, where as the book begins from the hotel conversation between Maxim and Van Hopper. Another difference is that du Maurier tells the reader about the apology note that the narrator received from Maxim, but the movie does not even mention it.
Furthermore, some scenes happen in different order than in the novel. The part where the narrator mentions her experience with the Manderley picture was a perfect example of this. In the book she tells Maxim about the post-card of Manderley during their first lunch together, whereas, in the movie she mentions it in the park. One of very important symbolic objects was not mentioned in the movie at all.
The book that the narrator received from Maxim which had a poem written in it about Max's miserable life, was well talked about in the book. Skipping ahead in the book, she introduces the reader to Maxims old grandmother who was also adore of Rebecca. However, in the movie this does not happen at all. Moreover, in the book when Mrs. de Winter meets Jack Fall, he shows his new sports car to the narrator, but in the movie his car is not even mentioned. Several times throughout the novel guests visit the Manderley, but in the movie no one is seen visiting the place but Beatrice, Maxims sister.
As compared to the book on which the movie was based, many important details are ignored, and some important scenes are not shown in the movie. Although, both the movie and the book are very good and interesting, the novel is better in many ways. One of the reasons is because Du Maurier describes the settings so well that even motion picture could do it hardly as good. The description of the Gothic style of Manderley is not well presented in the movie. Also the suspense of the book is more tense than the movie.
Hitchcock, on the other hand, changes the novel in some ways in the movie. For example, he does not introduce some characters, and he rearranges some events from the book and illuminate many important scenes. In addition, the movie does not emphasize on Rebecca's constant haunting presence within the dark walls of Manderley. Leaving out important details makes the movie less preferable compared to The novel Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier and the movie by Alfred Hitchcock based on this novel, have many similarities as well as noticeable differences. The book has many preferences over the movie. One reason is that Du Maurier describes everything very clearly and detailed, whereas, the movie constantly ignores many details.
Both the movie and the book follow the same story very well. They both start of with the drive through the twisted driveway to Manderley. Also dialogue in the movie was almost identical to the book in many scenes. Despite the similarities in the story, the detailed novel and comparably short movie, had many major differences. The movie does not mention Maxims old grandmother as it is in the book. Furthermore, many details that presented the Gothic feeling in the book were absent in the movie.
Hence, the novel seemed more interesting and preferable to read. Not always a movie comes out to be better than Bibliography:
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