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How the Novel Rebecca Reflects and Subverts the Conventions of the Romance Genre

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"I'm invariably ill-tempered in the early morning. I repeat to you, the choice is open to you. Either you go to America with Mrs Van Hopper or you come home to Manderly with me."
"Do you mean you want a secretary or something?"
"No, I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool."
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a fine example of the romantic genre as it reflects certain conventions such as the hero and heroine?s characteristics. It also subverts many romantic conventions for example, the journey to happy ever after. Conventions of the gothic/horror genre are also found in the novel.

The conventions that Rebecca reflects of the romantic genre are those of the characteristics of the hero and heroine (as mentioned above). The heroine is …show more content…

?I simply can?t see you doing it. You haven?t the experience. You know why he?s marrying you don?t you? You haven?t flattered yourself he?s in love with you? He admitted?he just cannot go on living there alone?? This makes her feel even more insignificant which is portrayed through her thoughts in the novel and her speech, especially towards Maxim. The attitude of self-degrading belonging to the narrator accurately reflects the corresponding convention of the romantic genre.

Furthermore, Rebecca reflects the conventions of the romantic genre by showing that the heroine?s first impressions of the hero were incorrect. She had first viewed him as ?hard? and ?sardonic? due to his remarks at Mrs Van Hopper, ?He got up at once, pushing back his chair. ?Don?t let me keep you,? he said. ?Fashions change so quickly nowadays they may even have altered by the time you get upstairs.?? However, following her first breakfast with Maxim, she realises that she was wrong and says, ?I had ill-judged him, he was neither hard nor sardonic, he was already my friend of many years.? The first impression of Maxim only lasts over one coffee with Mrs Van Hopper however is fixed soon after when he sends the heroine a note which reads, ?Forgive me. I was very rude this afternoon.? It is evident that as soon as she receives this note, her opinions of the hero change. She also elaborates on her feelings the next morning when Maxim invites her

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