Intertextuality
is prevalent in many literary works. One example of intertextuality I found was
in Daphne duMaurier’s, Rebecca, and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. In both of these stories, there is a rich,
educated and refined gentleman who travels quite frequently, as the main
character. Both of these men carry deep,
dark secrets that ultimately lead to their ruin. Additionally, the heroine of
both stories are poor and are mistreated by the person they are entrusted to,
Jane Eyre by her aunt and the heroine in Rebecca, by her employer, Mrs. Van
Hopper. The settings are very similar in the sense that they take place in a
large mansion where mysterious events take place. This is where the discovery
of the interrelationship between these two stories comes to the attention of
the reader. Both have very controlling
housekeepers that make the heroines feel inept and uncomfortable in the home.
The stories are both similar in that there is a restricted area in the
house. In Rebecca, the restricted
area is the bedroom Rebecca slept in before she was murdered. In Jane Eyre,
it is the third floor where the first wife is kept in the Thornfield mansion.
As
the stories unfold, it becomes apparent that the main character in both stories
has or had a first wife that was evil and adulterous. This results in the main characters’ actions
becoming their downfall and leading to the destruction of their futures. As we see in Rebecca, Mr. Maxim
DeWinter is haunted by the memory of his killing of his wife and sinking the
boat with her body in it. The burden of carrying this secret and the discovery
of the boat lead him to tell Mrs. DeWinter the truth. In Jane Eyre, the discovery of the
insane woman in the attic who is actually Mr. Rochester’s wife, leads to grief
and misery for both the heroine and the main character. Ultimately, the intertextuality
between these two stories is apparent in the setting, the main characters, and
heroines and allows for a deeper understanding of the stories.
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| From Word Press |
