Abstract:Rebecca is Daphne du Maurier’s masterpiece. In this novel, Daphne du Maurier successfully created a very mysterious female---Rebecca. She is not only very beautiful, talented and clever, but also bold, rebellious, selfish and narcissistic. She discards the traditions and rebels against orthodoxy, being completely different from the traditional women. If we link her behaviors to the background of the era when du Maurier wrote Rebecca, it is not difficult to find that the first feminist movement had a deep impact on the du Maurier. Feminist thoughts such as the requirement of equality between men and women infulenced du Maurier’s writing. So in her novel, Rebecca’s deviant behaviors embody the awakening of her feminine consciousness, and her narcissistic complex shows the subconscious desire to change woman’s fate and status. It is because at that time woman’s talents could not be treated equally in the social environment that Rebecca had to turn to other aspects to seek for free space. Thus, her narcissistic personality came into being. It influenced and was influenced by Rebecca’s attitude towards life.

This thesis includes five chapters. The first chapter introduces Daphne Du Maurier and feminism, and gives a summary of Rebecca. The second chapter firstly introduces the origin of narcissism and then analyzes the embodiment of Rebecca’s narcissism. In the third chapter, the author analyzes the objective and subjective courses of the formation of Rebecca’s narcissistic personality. From the feminist perspective, the author thinks that Rebecca’s narcissism is closely related to her feminist thoughts. Rebecca is not servile to men like other traditional women but has the courage to express her, and she dares to challenge the authority of the patriarchal society and to pursue her freedom and equality. Besides, she disdains all men, thus forming her narcissistic idea that she can control everything. This kind of idea has a great impression on Rebecca’s life. The forth chapter analyzes the influence of Rebecca’s feminist thoughts and narcissistic personality on her view on love and the reason why she eventually chooses to die. In this thesis, the author tries to analyze Rebecca’s deep desire for equality inside her heart.

Keywords:  Rebecca  Rebecca  feminism  narcissism

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 An Introduction to Daphne du Maurier and Feminism-1

1.2 A Summary of Rebecca-1

Chapter Two The Embodiment of Rebecca’s Narcissistic Personality-3

2.1 The Origin of Narcissism-3

2.2 The Embodiment of Rebecca’s Narcissistic Personality-3

2.2.1 Rebecca’s Conceit-3

2.2.2 Rebecca’s Egoism and Selfishness-3

2.2.3 Rebecca’s Indifference to Animals-4

Chapter Three Causes of Formation of Rebecca’s Narcissistic Personality-5

3.1 Objective Causes-5

3.1.1 Rebecca’s Gorgeous Beauty-5

3.1.2 Rebecca’s Superior Ability-5

3.2 Subjective Cause-6

3.2.1 Rebecca’s Feminist Thoughts-6

Chapter Four Influence of Narcissistic Personality on Rebecca-8

4.1 Influence on Rebecca’s View on Love-8

4.2 Influence on Rebecca’s Way of Death-9

Chapter Five Conclusion-10

References-11