Daphne Du Maurier

1. Daphne Du Maurier 1907-1989

2. Early years highlights • Grand-Daughter of the artist and writer George Du Maurier. Also the daughter of Gerald Du Maurierwho was the most famous actor manager of his day. • Being born into a wealthy family, she enjoyed indulging in freedom and financial restraint. She spend most of her time sailing boats, travelling on the continent with friends and writing stories. • The Du Maurier family bought a house for future holidays at a “Swiss Cottage” in Cornwall. They moved in on May 14th, 1927, right after Daphne turned twenty.

3. Adult years highlights • She published her first novel when she was in her early twenties • With the publicity of her first novel, it brought upon a handsome soldier, Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Browning, who later married her. • While being wealthy from her novels, her and her husband lived in a mansion in Cornwall called Menabilly. Menabilly was later served as the model for the mansion Manderley in her novel Rebecca • In 1965, her husband had died. She used and took over many of his things to help herself cope with the pain. She would often use his pen, sit at his desk and wear his clothes while writing.

4. Writing highlights • Alfred Hitchcock made a film based on her novel Rebecca, which made her one of the best-known authors in the world. • Unlike many other authors of this time, she focused on psychology, art and experimenting with new techniques. She loved writing novels that appealed to a audience of love, fantasy, adventure and mystery. • In some novels, she used her feelings towards her father and her mother to create a vision in Julius, Rebecca, and The Parasites. She introduces an image of a overbearing and deadly father and even incest. • Her novels, Rebecca, The birds, and Don’t Look Now, stand out because it brings a Gothic aspect into her writing. People thought of her as a romantic and fantasy writer, but with these novels it showed a gothic side.

5. Historical/cultural context for Rebecca • Daphne Du Maurier and her husband lived on the coast of Cornwall in a mansion named Menabilly. Later, Menabilly became an inspiration for the mansion Manderley in Rebecca. • During the time period of the novel being published, people began to believe that the strange up marriage in the book was inspired by her own marriage. • The most commonly asked question was why didn’t the narrator have a name? Daphne intended it to be herself telling the story. • After she became married to her husband, she found out that he was once engaged to a women that was “glamorous”. Du Maurier always felt that he still had feelings for her. With this idea, she incorporated it into the novel. • The publisher ordered a first print run of 20,000 copies and within a month the novel had sold more than twice that number. It remains to be Du Maurier’s best-loved novel, continuously in print through eight decades.

6. Highlights of analysis for Rebecca • The mansion being a resemblance of Rebecca’s spirit still being alive • The way the new wife cant get the image of Rebecca out of her head and starts to believe that she is being compared to her • Before the wife is about to jump out of the window and commit suicide, she hears a gun shot. She goes outside to see the police with Rebecca's real body and it shows that she was actually murdered. • When the husband says that he was actually the one that killed Rebecca because she was conniving and cheated on him all the time. She told him she was pregnant with another guys baby and that’s what made him do it. • He killed her and put her body on a boat with holes in the bottom to make it look like she sunk and drowned to death.

7. Historical/Cultural context from “The Doll” • Daphne was twenty when she wrote “The Doll”. It was the 20’s and many stories were based on youthful narrative, and lighter themes. The context in “The Doll” would be considered a bold acknowledgment or independent female sexual desire. This writing was known as bravery because the independence of the women might invalidate the males figure.. • “The Doll”, is argued that the story is as much science fiction as it is romance and the truth lies deep within that makes it difficult to define. • “The Doll” uses the character Rebecca, just like in her later novel Rebecca. In “The Doll”, Rebecca is noted to be the tortured protagonists of both narrative. Both Rebecca's show independence, consume the narrative and drive the plots forcefully to dramatic conclusions.

8. Summary of “The Doll” • The short story is about a man that feels embarrassed and stupid after loving a woman. He opens the story by asking “do men know they are insane?”. He meant Rebecca at Olga’s studio one day, where she was introduced to him. He began to fall madly in love with her and everything she did. He loved her amazing talent of the violin and other things. She asked him “Is it possible to love someone so much, that it gives you pleasure to hurt them?”. She then introduces him to Julio, a 16 year old boy sitting in a chair. It was a doll. He starts to realize that she is more in love with this doll than she is in love with him. At the end of the story, she yells at him saying that she doesn’t need him, all she needs is the doll. The story shows a woman's demeanor and strong independence she has for herself. Daphne wanted to make a story that would show people that women don’t need men to take care of them and they can hurt and make them feel stupid, as they do to woman.

9. Three main concepts definitions of “The Doll” • Symbolism-the use of symbols to express or represent ideas or qualities in literature, art, etc. • Imagery-language that causes people to imagine pictures in their mind • Irony-a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what you expected

10. Three main concepts examples • Symbolism-Black is used to represent death or evil. White stands for life and purity. Red can symbolize blood, passion, danger, or immoral character. A chain can symbolize the coming together of two things. A ladder can represent the relationship between heaven and earth. Imagery-He fumed and charged like an angry bull. He fell down like an old tree falling down in a storm. He felt like the flowers were waving him a hello. Irony-A person who claims to be a vegan and avoids meat but will eat a slice of pepperoni pizza because they are hungry. It may not make sense, but it is an illustration of irony. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo finds Juliet in a drugged state and he thinks she is dead. He kills himself. When Juliet wakes up she finds Romeo dead and kills herself.

11. Three main concepts illustrations in “The Doll” • Symbolism-The symbolism in “The Doll”, is the doll Julio. Julio symbolizes the independence that women have. Back in the 20’s when this was written, men were the dominate partner. The doll symbolizes that women had a since of independence and didn’t need men in their life. • Imagery-Imagery in “The Doll”, is the sentences about how much the man love her. This whole short story shows imagery well with many descriptions. For example, “Rebecca – Rebecca, when I think of you with your pale earnest face, your great wide fanatical eyes like a saint, the narrow mouth that hid your teeth, sharp and white as ivory, and your halo of savage hair, electric, dark, uncontrolled – there has never been anyone more beautiful” • Irony- The whole short story is ironic with the way Rebecca has independence during this time era. The time era was not known to have woman leave their man and seek independence. We find out in the end of the story, that the whole time she had a doll that she loved. She never loved the man, even though she lead him on.

12. Love/hate in “The Doll” • Love and hate are both shown in “The Doll”. It is shown in a way that seems normal to us in todays society, but back in the 20’s it was frowned upon. There is two different situations of love in the story. The love that the man has for Rebecca. He has strong love and feelings for her. The other type of love is the love that Rebecca has for doll, Julio. Many interpretations say that she may not love her doll, she just uses it to make the man jealous. The man also has a hatred for the women. He hates how much he loves her and how she doesn’t care for him as much as she does Julio. Rebecca also has pleasure is making the man hate her.

13. Something I learned… • In 1929, Daphne's father Gerald, earned some extra money when he lent his name to ‘Du Maurier’ cigarettes. He supposedly didn’t smoke themselves, but his smoking contributed to his death. The Du Maurier’s family added on even more wealth with the cigarettes than they already had. It was no coincidence that Daphne had enough money to begin her first novel, The Loving Spirit, with some of the wealth.

14. Something I learned… • One of the five sets of stamps issued on August 6, 1996 by Royal Mail Mint Stamps celebrated Women of Achievement. It featured five women who had died in the last decade and Daphne Du Mauriers portrait was courtesy of The Nation Portrait Gallery in London.