Aida Widyaning Wardhananti

2201410055
Rombel 7 (Friday at 9)
Literary Appreciation
A Freudian Psychological Analysis of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
A. Summary:
I was twenty-one years old girl who married to Maxim De Winter after meeting in Monte
Carlo. Maxim De Winter was a rich widower of forty-two who owned a beautiful house
named Manderley and whose wife named Rebecca died by accident a year ago.
After having their honeymoon in Italy, Maxim took I to Manderley. It was a beautiful house
with a bay behind the house. There was a housekeeper who looked after Manderley named
Mrs. Danvers. She loved and adored Rebecca, the last wife. She did not like when another
woman replaced Rebeccas position as the mistress of Manderley; she hated I.
Although she had been Maxims wife, I knew nothing about Maxim. Maxim never told her
about his feeling and Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers provoked I to wear a dress which was the
same like the last dress worn by Rebecca on the ball day. It led to Maxims angry. Moreover,
Mrs. Danvers persuaded I to commit suicide by jumping from the window for a reason that
Maxim never loved her and that Maxims love was only for Rebecca.
By an accident of a ship at the bay, Rebecca and her little sailing boat was found under the
water. Finally, Maxim told I that he killed Rebecca, put her dead body in the boat and
drowned the boat in the bay. The body who was identified as Rebecca a year ago was not
Rebecca. He also told her that he never loved Rebecca.
For the discovering of the boat, a convocation discussing about Rebeccas dead was held.
Fortunately, by evidence from a doctor that Rebecca had a serious disease just before she
died, Maxim was escaped from the accusation. However, Mrs. Danvers who was in an
extreme anger burned Manderley.
B. A Freudian Psychological Analysis
Tripartite Model related to Mrs. Danvers:
Id
The irrational, unknown, unconscious, instinctual part of the psyche. It contains our secret
desires, our darkest wishes, and our most intense fears.
She loved and adored Rebecca. Because of her love for Rebecca, she hated I who came
to Manderley as a new Mrs. De Winter. Mrs. Danvers thought that no one could be Mrs.
De Winter but Rebecca and that no one could replace Rebeccas position in Manderley.
You tried to take Mrs. De Winters place, she said. (Page 80)
Shes the real Mrs. De Winter, not you, (Page 81)
Why did you ever come to Manderley? She said. (Page 79)
Ego
The rational, logical, waking part of our mind. It is the egos job to regulate the
instinctual desires of the id and to allow these desires of the id to allow these desires to be
released in some non-destructive way
Mrs. Danvers was the house keeper of Manderley who had to serve her master and the
wife whoever she was. She had to keep her politeness to them. Even though Mrs. Danvers
hated I, she kept doing everything well in the house; she knew her duty in Manderley.
Moreover, at first, she tried to attitude well toward I. It was her ego.
It is my duty to wait for you, Madam, Mrs. Danvers said. Im here to carry out
your orders. (Page 24)
Superego
The internal censor, causing us to have moral judgments in light of social pressures. It
operates according to the moral principle and serves primarily to protect societys moral
restrictions. Superego manifests itself through punishment.
Mrs. Danverss superego was the norm of English people about a servant who should
serve the master as best as he/she could. It was an unwritten norm which contained the
manner and role of a servant and a housekeeper.
How Dare you speak to me like that? said by I (Page 80) indicated that there was
a norm about servant and master.
Mrs. Danvers had id, ego, and superego with her; however, her id no longer could be
restrained by the ego and superego. There was an imbalance in her mind between id and ego,
superego. It began when she was blamed by Maxim for Mr. Favells visit to Manderley.
Maxim said angrily that he did not want Mr. Favell to come to Manderley anymore. That
circumstance led to a grudge of Mrs. Danvers toward I as Mrs. Danvers thought that I told
Maxim about the visit.
On the ball day, Mrs. Danvers persuaded I to wear a dress which was exactly the same like
the last dress worn by Rebecca. For that action, Maxim was so angry. Moreover, Mrs.
Danvers persuaded I to commit a suicide by jumping from the window in the west wing.
She provoked her that she had no use for Maxim and that Maxim never loved her.
Dont be afraid, said Mrs. Danvers. I wont push you. You can jump. Youre not
happy. Mr. De Winter doesnt love you. Why dont you jump now? (Page 82)
At last, for her anger that she accused Maxim killed Rebecca, she burnt Manderley. Her id
absolutely could not be controlled by her ego and superego. Her anger had destroyed her
bridle of id.
Electra Complex in Rebecca
Electra complex was a condition when a girl has a psychosexual competition with her mother
to possess her father. Electra complex was not always a condition of a girl who competes
against her natural mother to possess her natural father. The point is about figure. In this
novel, there are no real father and mother. However, we can find electra complex in I.
For the father figure, we can find it in Maxim De Winter as Maxims age was too far for I
to be her husband. He was more suitable to be her father. However, I loved Maxim so
much. He wanted to posses him absolutely.
For the mother figure, it was Rebecca. It maybe seems that Rebecca was not the mother
figure. However, Rebecca was Maxims last wife and for I, Rebecca was her rival in
possessing Maxims love.
Some points which indicates the electra complex in I:
Maxims treatment toward I and her thought that she was a child
I felt like a child who always hid herself behind Maxim. She often felt shy, stupid,
nervous, awkward and afraid even of Mrs. Danvers, her servant.
I felt like a child again. (Page 51)
I was dull and stupid, like a schoolgirl. (Page 45)
I began to feel that Mrs. Danvers was watching me (Page 62)
It was also about Maxims treatment toward I which she thought he treated her like a
child. It was because maxim did not want to tell her about his pain, anger, and anything
unpleasant. He never wanted to share his feeling, about what he always thought about and
something made him so worried. He did not want her to know anything in his mind. He
just wanted her to be happy, gave her anything she wanted, protected her, and indulged
her so much.
I knew then that he was not going to tell me about his anger with Mrs. Danvers.
Maxim still thought of me as a child someone who must not hear unpleasant things.
But he was wrong. I felt I was growing up (Page 64)
As usual, he was treating me like a child (Page 66)
Maxim said, You have lost that young, sweet look. And it will never come back.
In twenty four hours, you have grown up so much older (Page 97)
Of course, she always wanted him to treat her like an adult. She convinced Maxim that
she was no longer a child.
I want to help you, Maxim, I said. Ive grown up, you know. Im not a child
anymore. (Page 88)
I wish, I said angrily, I wish I was a woman of about thirty-six. I wish I was
wearing a lot of make-up and had expensive clothes. (Page 13)
Is thought about Rebecca
In this case, I thought that Maxim loved Rebecca so much even after she died. She
thought that something made Maxim had the lost eyes was his thought of Rebecca. The
electra complex in this novel was the desire of I to get Maxim attention and desire to
make him forget Rebecca.
He had loved Rebecca, of course. How could he love me after her? (Page 18)
.. Maxim will love me as his wife and forget about Rebecca. (Page 66)
For that thought, she hated Rebecca, moreover when everyone in Manderley compared
her with Rebecca. She thought that Rebecca was her rival who would take Maxim away
from her. That thought overshadowed I.
I tore up the paper with writing Rebecca on the book given by Maxim. I tore
up the page. I lit a match and set fire to the pieces the letter R was burnt I felt
better, much better now. (Page 19)
What must people think of me? (Page 46)
How different she is from Rebecca. (Page 48)
Was there nowhere I could escape from Rebecca? (Page 44)
Based on the explanation above, we can conclude that in novel Rebecca, there was the
circumstance that implied the tripartite model explained by Freud and there was electra
complex phenomenon which was undergone by I.