Daphne Du Maurier(1907-1989)was an English writer and playwright.Her notable works are described as"moody and resonant with overtones of the paranormal".Rebecca,her representative work,tells a story about the young narrator’s life as Mr.de Winter’s second wife in Manderley,and how Rebecca,the late hostess of this mansion,keeps haunting the narrator’s mind.Traditional interpretation of this work is that it describes the process of the kind,innocent narrator and Mr.de Winter’s fight with Rebecca,a symbol of immorality.However,if this story is interpreted from the perspective of feminism,both Rebecca and the narrator subvert male’s dominance to some extent in the patriarchal society.This essay focuses on Rebecca’s rebellious attitude towards male dominance and the awakening of the narrator’s independent personality.
