Modernism and Realism in Rebecca and Great Expectations.

The notion of the desire for power and the advancement in the social hierarchy is evident in both Rebecca (2003) by Daphne De Maurier and Great Expectations (1992) by Charles Dickens. Both men and women are presented in these novels to be striving for power through success or through their own characteristics imposed by the authors. Although the main focus will be on the women in the novels, the men characters bestow their own influence on the opposite sex, thus becoming a driving force to further their will to obtain power and respect. Whether it’s through haunting or social pressure, power is desired in order to gain control and further the character’s ambition in their social context. Great Expectations shows the extent of how great the will of a person is when desiring social mobility and escape the past. This proves difficult for Rebecca and sees that the past is always in her present. Pip on the other hand is ashamed of his past and distances himself from his old way of a poverty-striven life only to realize that in reality, a poor honest heart is better than an egotistical wealthy one.

Nina Auerbach states that “to be a woman is to be rotten, or at best, defective” which the reader sees through Mrs. De Winter’s narration. The second Mrs. De Winter is seen as “defective” in that she doesn’t belong to the magnificence of Manderley and the authoritative role she has to fill. This is exemplified by Mrs. De Winter herself “not up to Manderley standard, a second-rate room, as it were for a second-rate person” . This negativity and other character’s judgment of her, especially Mrs. Danvers and Mrs. Van Hopper before her serves as a scrutinizing driving force to prove them wrong. Power becomes a central theme in the novel and in Mrs. De Winter’s case, becomes a constant agony while she battles for it with the non-existent Rebecca. However, according to Maxim, Rebecca “was not even normal” and “she was above all that” Through the perspective of the other characters, Rebecca is conveniently placed in a position of power because of her attitude and characteristics. Therefore in order for the second Mrs. De Winter to replace Rebecca, she must step out of the norm and her comfort zone and imitate what Rebecca was. It seems that Rebecca’s power carries a sense of fear, which is instilled in Ben when he has been threatened by her and by Mrs. De Winter herself; power become s a negative trait because it imposes arrogance and deviant behavior is order to achieve what is required. The presence of Rebecca through Manderley is a constant reminder that Mrs. De Winter will never achieve the hierarchical position she deserves. The isolation of the narrator from her surroundings is projected through her narration. The reader only sees the events of the novel through Mrs. De Winter’s perspective, which highlights her concerns of unifying into the mistress of such a high estate and magnifies her inferiority to the memory of Rebecca.

With the inclusion of men into the analysis, Mrs. De Winter is ultimately powerless without a man. Throughout the narration, she has remained nameless until she marries Maxim De Winter. By doing so, Mr. De Winter exerts his power over her and she is continuously following in the footsteps of his previous wife; having no association to a sense of self development and advancing in her own way. The desire for power and to maintain her position as mistress is shown as Mrs. De Winter recounts, “the self I wanted to become, the self I had pictured in my dreams, who made Manderley her home” . The reader senses a desperate tone to fulfill a role previously occupied by a very powerful woman and sympathizes with the narrator; which is an easy process considering it is Mrs. De Winter’s own narration and reflects her stream of consciousness.

Dickens directs the reader to a portrayal of life embodied by details or ideas that are straightforward in manner. Great Expectations also identifies with real characters rather than stereotypical ones and by doing so, a sense of socialist realism is created and characters in the novel, like Pip become much more believable in his pursuit of social mobility and advancement in the social hierarchy. Like the heroin in Rebecca, he too is seen as defective and Estella, fuelled by Miss Havisham, exposes the limitations of human potential. Pip “had heard of Miss Havisham up town” and sees her as immensely rich; someone who would provide for him. The distinction between Pip’s village and Miss Havisham’s “up town” gated manor, however there isn’t a happy atmosphere and Pip is left to wonder whether becoming wealthy and advancing in society is worth the lack of happiness and self fulfillment. Dickens explores the notion of identity through power and achievement in the 1800’s as a key factor in life; as Pip wants to clearly advance in life from the simplicity of