Rebecca

Through various plot elements and filmic techniques in Alfred Hichcock’s film Rebecca, the final product is established as a fairytale. This final product, however, must first be reached by Hichcock’s use of entwining the "alternative" fairy tale of Rebecca with various other traditional fairy tales in which the viewer is positioned to mock and interpret in a desired fashion. This "fairytale" element is just one of the sub-genres used to emphasize the gothic genre.

These traditional fairytales act as sub-plots throughout the course of the film, acting in a way, as a series of steps, each leading a little closer to the end result and the way the audience is positioned towards the end result. The first step that must be overcome for the plot to mature, and the major characters to mature, is a version of the Cinderella myth. Fontaine is established as a child, a simple girl protected by Mrs. Van Hopper, her ungrateful employer. The audience however, subconsciously associates Fontaine with Cinderella and Mrs. Van Hopper with the evil stepmother. Maxim, her handsome prince, rescues Fontaine, they marry, she receives a name, Mrs. De Winters, exaggerating her solitude and her disability to exist without a man. They the run off back to

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This produces a sympathetic positioning towards the character and the overall effect of the film is much greater if the audience leaves wishing the story, was, in fact, their reality. She acts as a frightened child when she first arrives at Mandeley. He often calls her "child" and she, in turn, acts as one. This fairytale is shattered, however, when Maxim’s response to her "new look" is less than positive and the "uncovering of Rebecca’s grave" both by finding her body and discussing her brings Maxim and Fontaine further and further apart.

Fontaine’s curiosity grows as she learns more about Rebecca. She trips over things and when she breaks the china cupid she hides it like a guilty child.

The setting of Mandeley is very important to the development and overall effect of the plot of Rebecca. She intrudes into Rebecca’s bedroom and readily inquires about her. This fairy tale is suitable for use in this film, as the intended audience is for housewives in the 1940’s who are generalized to wish this life for themselves and freely associate themselves with the Fontaine character. The huge walls loom over her and she loses herself in the house. This acts as a ritual cleansing of the past, common to fairy tales. Light must therefore be cast on Mandeley for the secrets to be uncovered and the story to be uncovered adequately. This suggests that she is not only turning over a new leaf and becoming Rebecca, but the audience recognizes the turning of pages, as that of the turning of pages in a storybook.

Approximate Word count = 1081
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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