Reading Rebecca in the Sixth-Form Classroom: Some Literary-Critical and Pedagogical Explorations

Abstract

ABSTRACT While Rebecca is not currently a set text for A-Level English Literature, this paper argues that the novel’s multi-faceted richness would justify its inclusion in any list of recommended texts. Divided into four interconnected parts, the paper offers, firstly, some approaches to the reading and teaching of fiction, generally. The second part presents some framing contexts for illuminating many of Rebecca’s preoccupations. These include: ideas about the Gothic tradition and the presentation of Fatal Women in some Romantic literature; some considerations about patriarchy, misogyny, gender and identity; finally, attention is given to the intersection between dream and reality in Rebecca and to the idea of obsession and the double self in two other works by Du Maurier. In the third part, more detailed attention is given to the presentation of character in the novel. The fourth part explores some pedagogical approaches to the novel in the sixth-form classroom.