Social Critique, Gendered Issues, and the Representation of Madness in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and its Two Film Adaptations

Abstract

This thesis, through an analysis of Rebecca (1938) and its two adaptations, aims to examine how social critique, various gendered issues, and the representation of madness are present in said works. The main technique, which characterizes the book is the veiled, but harsh criticism concerning (patriarchal) society and the way it operates; several issues connected to gender, including, the fragility of masculinity and female sexuality; and the representation of madness. The adaptations, Alfred Hitchcock's film (1940) and Ben Wheatley's movie (2020), set out to portray the same matters, each with a divergent approach and with the implementation of a different set of tools.