Destruction And Rebirth

Daphne du Maurier is a celebrated British novelist in the twentieth century. Since itspublication in1938, Rebecca, du Maurier’s best-known work, gains the enduring popularityfor its engrossing plot full of romance and suspense and its unique narrative strategy, whichuses the "real" figure to serve as a foil to that "unacted" one.Rebecca was published in1930s， in which there was a transitional period for women tofight against their traditional identity anxiously. Based on the theory of feminist narratologyand the theory of narrative voice put forward by Susan Lanser and the conception of Genette’snarrative focalization, this thesis tries to combine the novel’s theme with its narrative formeffectively. Through the detailed analysis of Rebecca’s unique narrative voice, narrativefocalization and narrative structure, it makes a meticulous and complete comparison of thedifferent images of the heroine “I” and Rebecca. Firstly, in this novel, there exist doublenarrative voices, namely, the submissive voice of the heroine “I” and the rebellious voice ofRebecca. By comparing these two kinds of narrative voice, the different character traits can beseen. Secondly, although this novel is written in the first person of the heroine “I”, thenarrative focalization on these two female characters are multiple. From the different points ofview of male and female characters, this thesis makes a detailed focalization on the differentimages of the heroine “I” and Rebecca. Thirdly, a kind of parallel narrative structure isadopted to elaborate on the development process of the fates of these two female characters. Itdescribes the process of the growth, transformation and rebirth of the heroine “I” and revealsthe tragic fate of Rebecca from anti-traditional to being destroyed respectively.Through these analyses, a profound but implied thematic connotation can bedemonstrated that, in that period of social transition, women should change the unfair socialposition bravely. In order to get the equal social status with men, they should seizeopportunities to improve themselves after experiencing some emotional epiphany.Furthermore, the author advocates the liberation of both genders and yearns to build a kind of harmonious relations between men and women.