REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier deserves its rightful place in the canon

Thursday "New Canon" conversations …

Hello readers and listeners! Happy Halloween! This is Lauren Stack, the booking producer on The Book Maven podcast. Every Thursday I’ll be discussing a book that I think should be elevated into the literary canon. My first pick? Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. 

There’s a lot of online outrage that this book is not considered to be a part of the canon, so I thought it was a perfect place to start. 

In making my selection I had to think about what goes into books of the canon. They usually (but not always) are enjoyable reads, hold important literary themes and structures, and have had historical impact. Does readability get factored in? Does content? Why does Shakespeare have a monopoly on books of the canon? Are books written in the last 50 years deserving of “canonization?”

Some of these questions I came up with my own answers to, and others are a question mark. I’m still not too sure about that Shakespeare guy. Part of the difficulty of selecting newer books to the canon is not being able to gauge the historical impact a piece of literature will have. Good thing this is just for fun!

Unfortunately for scholars everywhere, high school is usually where these “canon” books are taught, at the ripe age of 15 through 18, where no one will appreciate them. However, I read Rebecca in my freshman year of high school, and it has stuck with me since. I argue that the canon should be expanded to include books that are truly enjoyable to read. Not fluff, still covering important themes and literarily masterful, but enjoyable. Let’s face it—some of the books currently in the canon are complete bores. 

This gets me into my “New Canon” section for The Book Maven podcast. Rebecca is typically presented as a gothic novel about a woman who marries a wealthy man and ends up being completely swept up in his world. She returns from her honeymoon to her new estate in the British countryside—Manderley—where she is confronted with a housekeeper not best pleased to have her there. Her husband’s previous wife, who died in a tragic accident, has a presence felt throughout the house. The narrator grapples with feelings of jealousy, betrayal, and unease in the novel. 

Rebecca can be perceived as a gothic romance on the surface level, but it is so much more complex than that. Readers are presented with an unreliable narrator, an analysis on a misogynistic society and the way traditional marriage roles function, and the continuous mystery and suspense of the novel. 

I think du Maurier is not only brilliant, but also an immensely enjoyable writer to read. She does so much in this novel and I think it should be taught in literature courses for years to come. Leave a comment below if you agree, if you were taught this book in school, OR any books you think deserve to be a part of the literary canon.

I am CANONING Rebecca, once and for all!