Rebecca

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• The narrator of the text is never named. How did this impact your impression of her?
• Had you seen a movie or TV adaptation before you read the novel? If so, did the novel meet your expectations, or was the novel different from the adaptation?
• The novel includes literary features from ghost stories. Did the novel scare you, and why?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Much of the novel follows the narrator’s attempts to live up to the spirit of Rebecca. Have you ever had the impossible task of filling someone else’s shoes? Did you react similarly or differently to the narrator?
• Maxim almost literally gets away with murder, but at the end, it is implied that Mrs. Danvers punishes him herself. Who were you rooting for in the novel? Have you ever witnessed someone getting away with something, or a poetic justice after the fact?
• Rebecca is an antagonistic force for most of the novel. What were your feelings about Rebecca while you read the text? Did your opinion change after Maxim reveals that he murdered her?
• Maxim and the narrator’s marriage features an age gap and an asymmetric power dynamic. Was there anything romantic about their marriage? What does romance or marriage mean to you?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Rebecca is set in the 1930s, when many members of the landed gentry were moving out of country estates, and some estates were falling into disrepair. How does this context show up in Rebecca?
• Du Maurier uses ableist language when portraying Ben, who has an intellectual disability, and some characters threaten to send him to an “asylum.” What does her portrayal of Ben tell us about the treatment of people with disabilities in this period?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• Rebecca is a gothic novel. What gothic elements are present? To what effect does Du Maurier use them?
• Du Maurier uses a lot of floral and natural imagery. How does this imagery enhance the overall meaning of the text?
• Analyze both the scene in which the narrator visits Rebecca’s room for the first time and the scene in which the narrator comes down the stairs in her costume at the ball. What techniques does Du Maurier use to build suspense?
• To what extent could this be considered a coming-of-age novel?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• The novel ends on a cliffhanger and we never see the fallout of the fire. Write the next chapter of the novel. How would the characters react? What would they do?
• Rebecca never gives her own perspective, even though the novel is named after her. Write a letter from Rebecca to either Maxim or the narrator from beyond the grave. What would she say?

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