I know I told everyone I was going to post on the blog last night, and then I never did, so here we go!
Starting off in reference to class today. I really loved that conversation we had about "why Maxim killed Rebecca," I think I definitely learned a lot more about the book than I did before, especially about everyone's specific areas of interest, which was cool to see. For me I looked at Maxim as loosing his innocence (by killing Rebecca) and although Rebecca already lost her's, it was like her's was being taken away from her again. This really goes hand and hand with that theme we were looking at very closely with The Virgin Suicides; surviving and why someone survives. So to connect that back to Rebecca, I guess a good question to ask is, if Rebecca already lost her innocence why did she continue her life, what was so valuable to her in her life that kept her alive. OK that was my recap on class...onto the reading.
This section was just so great...am I right? So, we find out the Rebecca was indeed pregnant, Maxim killed her out of jealousy, and Rebecca did plan on committing suicide (which ties so greatly back to what I said above). Rebecca had lost everything in her life (innocence, Manderley etc...) and felt that ending her life would be the easiest and for her the most relieving solution. Maxim wanted to take away Rebecca's "Freedom" per-say, and by doing so killed her before she could do it to herself. On page 323, "'Suicide,' he said, 'without sufficient evidence to show the state of mind of the deceased. They were all at sea of course, they did not know what they were doing." We can see Rebecca's plan to kill herself here, and an interesting gathering place (the sea? - anyone have a guess about the significance of that?). As you continue on in the reading..."Where was the motive?" I think not only is the character in the novel asking this, but we as readers are as well. That is always the big question, and is always left as a mystery...it is up to us to collect clues and infer what her motive was. As you continue reading in this section, page 331, Favell states something great, "'Rebecca committing suicide. The sort of thing she would do, wasn't it?" This just sums up the fact that Rebecca was a very dramatic person and someone who had nothing left going for her. As we can see, although Rebecca herself never committed suicide in the peaceful way she intended, she still died and thus ending her so called miserable life. For me the big investigating question here is, was Rebecca happy she died even though she was murdered? I will probably never get an answer to this question, but I will keep it in the back of my mind as we near the end of story.
P.S. Sorry this is so long and I hope I didn't spoil anything!
Okay two things. First, you say that Rebecca committing suicide would be because she was a very dramatic person, but I also think it could tie in to the element of control that we have been discussing (just something to think about). Second, something we didn't really discuss in class was how oddly similar Maxim and the narrator really are. This was something I had been focusing on in the beginning of the book, but let it go once they got to Manderley. When Maxim talks about the bargain Rebecca made with him it kind of reminded me of the narrators thoughts the morning after the costume party. She says that she would be "content to live in one corner of Manderley and Maxim in the other as long as the outside world should never know. if he had no more tenderness of me, never kissed me again, did not speak to me except on matters of necessity, I believed I could bear it if I were certain that nobody knew of this but our two selves. If we could bribe servants not to tell, play our parts before relations, before Beatrice, and then when we were alone sit apart in our separate room, leading our separate lives" (236). In a way she is fantasizing/imagining the life that Maxim and Rebecca lived. I hadn't picked up on it before because I didn't know the truth about Max and Rebecca yet. Something else that is interesting that she says a few lines down is that "there was nothing quite so shaming, so degrading, as a marriage that has failed" (236). Just something to think about.
ReplyDeletePs. Sorry this post is so long. I wasn't planning on it, but I got carried away and couldn't stop.
also i'm not seeing so many things I missed like when Frank and the narrator talk and she's like I know about him and Rebecca (242) and franks voice becomes nervous because he probably thinks she was talking about the murder. Everything in this book makes sense now and I just can't believe I missed it all before.
DeleteMatt I remember when you turned to me in class and told me about the loss of innocence thing and I think that is a great point. I didn't get it at first, but then when you posted it on this blog post and explained it I totally get what you are saying. I also like how Talia mentioned the view of the element "control" and added the "something to think about" because I did start thinking. Since I have been only looking at this book in my AOI. I like seeing other people interpret their AOI's on the blog, and I like to see where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteand IM not going to be on the blog later so i thought Id just comment on Matt's and I will check for Dan's tomorrow,(didn't want it to seem like i was ignoring dan's post)
DeleteHi matt, okay I know this is my third comment on your post (sorry), but I was watching the carrie dairies and the theme of one episode was the loss of innocence and it was comparing different types of innocence and it reminded my of your AOI so I just thought I would mention it.
ReplyDeleteI think by killing her it was another form of him gaining power because it was something he could get to before her, I know that sounds horrible but I feel like it's true.
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