Questers -- May 10, 2023

The Questers' latest discussion revolved around the classic novel Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Many members had read it previously, and they felt like they liked it better during that first reading experience, but could not pinpoint the reason for that. One theory was that as we evolved as readers and as individuals, we no longer saw the plot as a romantic tragedy, but more of a story of manipulation and control. 

When the main character, who isn't even respected enough to be granted a first name in the novel, meets and marries a rich, handsome, and much older widower, she is not prepared to live in the shadow of his first wife, Rebecca. The reader is left wondering if she is paranoid, as each glance and comment from the servants of her husband's much beloved estate make her feel inferior or if the servants are, indeed, comparing her to their former employer. Just as the novel begins to seem bogged down in the details of this intimidation, a twist in the plot revitalizes the story and breathes new life into the mystery surrounding Rebecca's death. 

Book club members all agreed that if the book was written today, instead of 1938, the reader might view the characters differently, altering the status of this novel as a classic. For example, Maxim de Winter is a handsome, brooding, somewhat sympathetic character as viewed by an earlier audience, but through today's lens he is seen as a controlling, manipulative, and cold husband to his much younger new wife. Overall, the Questers evaluated it as a thought provoking read, but a little too wordy. The group gave it 2.83 stars out of 5.