Is Maxim De Winter in Daphne Du Mauriers Rebecca an Example of a Gothic Hero?
axiomatic of the gothic, Daphne Du Maurier’s novel Rebecca generally tends to be labeled an example of gothic British literature. Regardless of whether a reader accepts this generic description of the novel as a whole, little argument can reasonably exist that the novel’s male protagonist Maxim de Winter does not clearly trace his literary lineage back to such stereotypical representations of the gothic male as Rochester and Heathcliff. One of foundational character traits that defines a gothic hero is a psychological alienation from not only others, but even himself. Much of the draw of both readers and the heroines of the fiction they are reading toward these men is located in the sense of mystery that surrounds them like an unseen aura. This sense of mystery is engendered by the almost obsessive reluctance to speak candidly about certain aspects of their history, and is further cemented by the prospect of fantastic or even dreadful details that may spur that reluctance. In the case
