Shadows that prevail : a literary analysis of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper

Abstract

This dissertation aims at unravelling the various ways in which shadows are not only given life in a literary narrative but are additionally allowed to continue to exist even after the final page has been turned. Both remembered for providing memorable depictions of two female shadows – Rebecca and the woman in the wall – Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper will be comparatively analysed through a close textual reading that demonstrates how these two objects of obsession are slowly assigned their power in the course of each narrative. The dissertation will explore the most prevalent literary devices in each work, focusing on characterisation, narrative style, sensory imagery and major themes. Each chapter then, will not only seek to understand the components of each narrative but will also depict the ways in which these novels endow each shadow with a profound power that surpasses the passing of time.