My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier

Another review I’ve been putting off over confusion over what to write about the damn book. I guess I should summarise it. The book is narrated by Philip, who lives with his uncle in a near-perfect bachelor existence in a mansion in Cornwall. The uncle goes off to Italy where he meets and marries a mysterious cousin then dies in sort of suspicious circumstances (we are never really sure if the uncle went slightly mad at the end of his life). Philip, who has developed a major aversion to women in the course of his life is disgusted then entranced by Rachel and slowly comes to fall in love with her, deciding to leave her the house and their family jewels. However, he becomes very unhappy when she reveals that she does not love him in return.

Philip is a great example of an unreliable narrator in this book, and we are never completely sure that he his portraying events in a truthful way. The way that Rachel is portrayed is telling. In Philip’s mind women are associated with the curtailing of his freedom. He has grown up in a practically all-male household and there are continual references to his similarities to his uncle. She is a seductress yet also a surrogate mother for Philip, and with her tisanes and the suggestion of her poisoning people she could also be associated with witchcraft.

Philip reacts badly towards her and the other characters throughout the novel. He doesn’t really respect anyone apart from his uncle and reacts like a spoiled child when he feels that his wishes are thwarted. He alienates himself from his godfather who is simply trying to protect both him and his inheritance and ignores Louise (his godfather’s daughter and possible future wife) throughout the novel.  As Sally Beauman points out in the introduction, it is also telling how he seems to think of Rachel as a sort of possession, trying to control her. He seems to believe that he is handing over the house to her because it is the right thing to do (obeying the wishes of his uncle’s will), yet it turns out that it is an attempt to get her to marry him. He is suspicious of Rainaldi, Rachel’s “friend” but she defends him because he is the only male character who accepts her for who she is and doesn’t try to control her.

In the end, we are never given a clear answer as to who is innocent and who is guilty, much the same as in Rebecca.

The book is mostly an enjoyable read, but I did find myself having to force myself to continue in parts, probably because Philip is so annoying as a narrator. Not a lot happens for a while apart from him mooning over her. I think My Cousin Rachel beats Rebecca in terms of having materiel to analyse, but Rebecca wins overall between the two books because it’s gripping because of the atmosphere she created. Nevertheless, I will be looking out for Du Maurier’s books in the future and may re-read My Cousin Rachel when I am not in the middle of finishing Les Mis.



...has a heaving bosom (link)