TitleIn the novel Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier tells a rare and suspenseful love story using a small cast of characters with many different personality traits. The reader begins to feel like they really know these characters only to discover the unseen truth as their masks fall. As these personalities develop throughout the novel, we can discover that the narrator, Mrs. de Winter, strives to please people and feels very uncertain in her identity. She tries to defend herself, but her words have no effect on her cruel, manipulative and controlling husband, Mr. de Winter. Mr. de Winter appears as a gentleman in the very first chapters of the book; however, the reader soon discovers that Mr. de Winter does not seem to care about the feelings of others and contains controlling characteristics. Besides being controlling, he also verbally abuses his wife. Put simply, Mr de Winter is a fool. Later in the book, another malicious and controlling character is introduced, Mrs. Danvers. Mr. de Winter's controlling and abusive ways and Mrs. Danvers' malicious tendencies collide as the new Mrs. de Winter strives to please them. At the very beginning of the novel, the narrator and Mr. de Winter meet. The narrator is carried away by the charm and charisma of Mr. de Winter; however, his charming manner fades almost immediately. Even before the couple becomes engaged, the narrator refuses to see the warning signs during their courtship that Mr. de Winter is not the man he appears to be. Upon returning to the Monte Carlo hotel, Mr. de Winter reprimands the narrator and tells her to “stop biting your nails, they are already ugly enough” (Du Maurier 38). We could exaggerate... in the middle of a paper... never, never” (304). Even though Mr. de Winter insults his wife and tries to control her, she remains faithfully by his side, as does his dog, Jasper. Mrs. de Winter strives to please people and wants people to like her. She has absolutely no self-confidence. In fact, her confidence level is so low that when Mr. de Winter asks her to marry him, she responds by telling him that she is "not the kind of person men marry" (52). Once married to Mr. de Winter, she always tries to please him and becomes almost obsessed with it. When Mr. de Winter becomes angry with her, she begs him, saying, "I don't want you to look like that." It hurts too much. Please, Maxime. Let's forget everything we said. A useless and stupid argument. I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry. Please let everything go well (118). Works CitedDu Maurier, Daphné. Rebecca.