Analysis of RebeccaRebecca is a bittersweet novel. Some aspects of the story are exceptional and well written, while others are not. It contains powerful characterization and strong foreshadowing but too much imagery. First and foremost, Rebecca contains some fantastic characterization. At the beginning of the story, the reader may become lost and bored with the plot, because little is known about the characters until much later in the story. However, once the author, Daphne du Maurier, reveals the secrets and lives of the characters, the story becomes compelling and thought-provoking. At some points, especially towards the end of the story, it seems as if the reader knows the characters personally and can identify with exactly what they think and feel. The reader can understand the narrator's pain regarding Maxim and Rebecca, and how she feels that she is always compared to Rebecca and that she is never good enough for Maxim. One can understand Maxim's actions and ways even after explaining his past life with Rebecca, which helps make the plot more compelling and draws the reader into the world of Manderley. All characters are continually developed throughout the novel and their pasts are learned, with the exception of the narrator, whose past is never learned; probably because du Maurier thought it was irrelevant to the plot and did not want to overdevelop the narrator's past. Secondly, Rebecca has some strong premonitions. On page four, du Maurier writes: "Because Manderley was no longer ours. Manderley was no longer." This is the strongest and most obvious foreshadowing of the story. The reader automatically knows that something tragic happens to Manderley and its inhabitants. In the rest of the story, however, he uses many almost imperceptible accounts of foreshadowing, which hint to the reader that something is about to happen. He mentions Rebecca's dress at the masquerade ball, when Mrs. de Winter is with the bishop's wife, and comments on how beautiful Rebecca looked in her lovely white dress. When the narrator and Maxim are walking and Jasper heads towards the bay, Maxim gets angry and Mrs. De Winter wonders why. Later in the story the reason for Maxim's dislike is revealed. Another example is before the masquerade ball. The narrator tells Frank and Maxim that when they see her in her costume "they will both get the shock of (their) lives"..