In the gothic novel Rebecca, the narrator of the story has grown both physically and mentally. As the story of Rebecca continues, in just one year, the narrator has changed dramatically. In this novel, the narrator’s growth is related to Maslow's hierarchy pyramid, which is “a theory of human motivation”. Maslow’s pyramid has five stages of development: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. From a very young and naïve girl to a more mature woman, the narrator develops from the basic physiological need to self esteem.
In the beginning of the story, the narrator is a companion of Mrs. De Winter. Mrs. De Winter is a rich woman who’s snobbish and treats the narrator like a maid. Despite the disgusting personality of Mrs. De Winter, the narrator has to serve her to survive. This comes to the basic needs of a human, physiological needs. The narrator’s parents all descended, she’s uneducated and poor, and being the companion of Mrs. Van Hopper fulfills the physiological needs: she has a place to live and a place to eat. Moreover, the salary of Mrs. Van Hopper was quite high, 90 pounds a year worth a lot for her. At this stage of the pyramid, all she can think is to survive despite whether the surroundings please her or not.
When the physiological needs are met, safety needs become what the narrator longs for, and Mr. De Winter appears. Mr. De Winter is a very rich man who’s good looking, he has a very high social status, and he has a very nice, modest, polite and caring personality. The arrival of Mr. De Winter gives the narrator a sense of safety. Mr. De Winter is the only person who treats her with respect and care. Before the acquaintance with Mr. De Winter, all the other people, including the servants, don’t respect the narrator and treat her as a maid. Afterwards in the story, when there’s a choice to stay with Mrs. Van Hopper and live a life where people never respect her, or become Mrs. De Winter and gain respect, status, love and money, the narrator definitely chooses to live a better life. Mr. De Winter helps the narrator gain safety needs, and becoming the hostess of Manderley provides her a stable employment.
When the narrator moves to Manderley, the life she expects is full of romance, with maids that respect her and a warm family that welcomes her. However, nothing went as expected. The third stage of the pyramid, which is love and belonging, is not shown in Manderley. The narrator doesn’t feel any love, support, companion, respect, recognition, or any admiration and worship after marrying Mr. De Winter. All the maids are viewing her as an “outsider”, and Mr. De Winter is always focusing on his own affairs. The first Mrs. De Winter, Rebecca, is always mentioned by the people at Manderley. The idea that the real mistress should be Rebecca haunts the narrator, and she doesn’t feel any sense of belonging at Manderley. The narrator struggles to be the mistress, and feels often depressed and uncomfortable without any sense of love and belonging at Manderley.
The ghost of Rebecca always haunts the narrator at Manderley until the reality of Rebecca’s death is revealed. Maxim actually doesn’t love Rebecca, and he kills Rebecca when Rebecca enrages Maxim by telling him she’s pregnant and the baby’s not his. This reality makes the narrator develop to the fourth stage of Maslow’s pyramid, esteem. The narrator is relieved and happy when she knows the reality. It’s not because Maxim murdered Rebecca, but because she finally knows that Maxim doesn’t love Rebecca, and Rebecca isn’t the perfect mistress everyone loves. The narrator becomes calm, brave and supportive after knowing the truth. She can calmly find all the evidence to prove Maxim right, and she becomes a mature woman who’s always supporting her husband. The narrator finally feels that she’s needed, and she finally develops self-esteem.
In the end of the story, after winning the lawsuit, the narrator never gets haunted anymore and she lives a peaceful life with Mr. De Winter. Manderley is burnt down and they live in a little hotel room, peaceful and nothing special happens. The narrator is never the young and naïve little girl one year ago, but a mature, tranquil, supportive and brave woman. During the story, she develops her personality, gains love and safety, and she can live the simple and normal life she desires. Without anything special happening, the narrator stays on the stage of esteem, where she has what she needs and remains confident of herself. In one year, the narrator has grown from the basic physiological needs to the stage of esteem. As the story develops, the narrator develops and builds the life she desires, following Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid.
Comments