Book #9: Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt

          Rory must have been going through a Gothic romance and feminine literature phase while she was at Stars Hollow High. We can see this from the books she is carrying from her locker: The Second Sex, Madame Bovary, Rebecca, and…Mistress of Mellyn. I was familiar with all the previous titles Rory had read, as they are well-known classics; however, I had never heard of . It took quite a bit of hunting to find myself a copy of this novel. I checked multiple book stores, searched through several library systems, and even checked online resources. Eventually, I found a used copy on Amazon for a dollar so I snatched it up. I was instantly curious why Rory would have this novel on her shelf. It was not a well known book nor was it by an author that was popular in our day and age.

Mistress of Mellyn

            Upon reading Mistress of Mellyn, I noticed it was eerily similar to Rebecca (see previous post) both in plot and tone. Of course, it was not exactly the same; but it was enough for people to speculate it was actually written by Daphne Du Maurier. Personally, I do not think it was as well written as any of Daphne Du Maurier’s works. It was obvious that Holt was a fan and built off of du Maurier’s success in the romantic genre to come up with her own story.

            Mistress of Mellyn takes pace in an upper class manner called Mellyn (obviously) which is coincidentally similar to the Manderly, the manner house in Rebecca. Both of these houses are “haunted” by the previous lady of the house who mysteriously died, Alice in Mistress of Mellyn and Rebecca. The action in both novels takes place roughly a year after each woman died. However, the main character in Rebecca arrives to the house as the new lady of the house while the main character in Mistress of Mellyn arrives as the governess. Both narrators attempt to solve the mystery of the lady of the house’s death and finds their place in life along the way. Rebecca ultimately does this better and leaves a more thought provoking ending. Mistress of Mellyn resolves every plot point with a neat and tidy bow. This is nice to see, but not always satisfying.

            Even though Mistress of Mellyn seems like a lesser Rebecca, I did enjoy reading it. I was excited to see that the main character’s name was Martha Leigh and went by Leigh for the majority of the novel. It is very rare that my name is used for a character in a novel, let alone for the protagonist. Martha was also a name that is meaningful to me. My maternal grandmother’s name was Martha so the combination of Martha Leigh immediately made me inclined to like the main character. I could also connect to Martha Leigh because she was a governess and I am a teacher. I could relate to how dedicated she was to her pupils and her craft, but I could also connect to her personality. Whenever someone of a higher level interacted with Martha Leigh, she would respond with “I’m just a governess.” Whenever she was complimented, she took the humble approach and it seemed like she could not see her worth. I am very similar in this nature. I have always been the type to shy away from praise and let others share the limelight. When someone gives me a compliment, it is easier to brush it off with a joke than to just say thank you. It is often difficult for me to see my own worth and this is something the main character struggled with. Everyone else could see it, except for her. Sometimes it takes someone else to see a different side of ourselves. We don’t always see ourselves the way others see us. We are often hard on ourselves and hold ourselves to higher standards than we do others. I am guilty of that crime. If anything, what I took away from this novel is that I am never “just” a teacher; never “just” a student; never “just” Leigh. I am all these things and I am more than enough and you are too. 

Pictures
Book cover: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qWT1I6RiL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
Old Book cover:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/Mistress-of-mellyn-victoria-holt.jpg

Book #7: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Du Maurier’s classic tale of romantic suspense was one of the books on this list that I was most excited to read. It has been sitting on my bookshelf, eagerly waiting for me to read it for years. Why didn’t I read it you may ask? Well...I am one of those weird people who once they buy a book, they can’t read it right away because they want to build anticipation and look at it on their bookshelf for awhile first. I want the book to marinate, if you will, before I read it. There. You all probably think I am crazy. Oh well.

Rebecca, the original Gone Girl

If there is one book that stands out in female centered literature within the last ten years, it is Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl. If you have not heard of the book (or the movie adaptation), you must be Gone Girl follows the contentious marriage of Amy and Nick while centered around Amy’s mysterious disappearance (as if there are any other kinds of disappearances). When the novel came out, the ending (SPOILERS) was considered shocking and Amy became a new kind of villain. The genre of domestic thriller was born. However, while reading Rebecca, I realized that Amy was not the first of her kind. The character of Rebecca, or rather the “ghost” of Rebecca, originated the controlling, manipulative lover who excelled at deceiving all of those around her except for her "lover." One of the most admirable characteristics of both Rebecca and Amy was their confidence. Both women were always several steps ahead of their pawns and masterfully knew how to manipulate a situation to fit their ultimate goal. Both fit the mold of a villain and the mark of a good villain (and good writing) is that the villain can, at times, be sympathetic.      
living under a rock.

Best to remain unnamed

One of the reasons du Maurier’s work is so memorable is that her narrator is made to not be. While Rebecca is the titular character of the novel and the propelling force of the story, she is neither the narrator nor a physical entity within the story. All we learn about Rebecca comes from other’s

interpretations of her and second hand knowledge. The narrator, though, tells the story as Rebecca’s successor as the second Mrs. de Winter. This is all we know her as; she is never given a first name. Although du Maurier claims that she couldn’t think of a name for her narrator and so it became a challenge for her to write in that style, I think there may be a greater purpose in leaving her nameless. The narrator spends the majority of the novel attempting to live up to what she believes others expect of her and to the glory of the first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca. We learn along with the narrator that Rebecca was quite charming, witty, beautiful, and kind (supposedly). Literally every character that interacted with her seemed to love her (emphasis on seem). At least, that is how it appears in the narrator’s head. The narrator feels the pressure of Rebecca’s ghost upon her. She feels that she can never live up to her or be the kind of wife she was. The narrator creates scenarios in her head of what Rebecca and Maxim’s (Mr. de Winter) life must have been like together therefore making her feel like her marriage with Maxim is less. Is this the truth? No. We learn in the end how Rebecca really was and the narrator realizes that the Rebecca she created in her head never existed at all.

            Jealousy is a cruel, cruel feeling. We many not be in the narrator’s situation, but we all know what it feels like to be jealous. One cannot help but be jealous of our partner’s past loves or our ex’s current ones. Those who came before will always be a touchy subject. What about them did they love? Does a part of them still love them? Am I anything like them? Would they go back to them if they had a chance? We idealize our lovers past loves because it hurts to think that somebody else once made them happy. We worry that we might not make them happy in the same way. This feeling does more harm than good and makes us jealous of someone we created in our imaginations. It is rare that it is the past lover that causes tension in a relationship, but actually the imagined scenarios with the past lover that creates tension. More so, when someone we love or once loved moves on and finds someone to fill your place, you can’t help but imagine how perfect this new person must be. They must have all the good parts you have, but also must be even better in certain aspects. They must be gorgeous, you think. Perfectly funny and smart; able to flirt effortlessly and not be the least bit awkward. It makes you doubt yourself and question what you once had with that person. In this way, you can sympathize with the narrator throughout the novel. You are causing the damage to yourself, not the actual person. She states it perfectly when she speculates “I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, and continued to suffer, because they could not break out of their own shyness and reserve, and in their blindness and folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth” (280). I was definitely one of those people and, at times, I still am. I’ve always considered myself shy and reserved, and many people in my life would second that opinion. I have always been too “in my head,” overthought things to the extreme, especially in the romantic entanglements in my life. I do not always consider this a weakness or flaw. My overthinking ways make me observant, it makes me attuned to people’s needs, it makes me creative. I may be on the more reserved side, but I have turned that into something that I am proud of.

Other Thoughts:

- The second Mrs. de Winter is around 23 and Maxim de winter is around 42. Their age difference is a point of contention in their relationship. He treats her and talks to her as if she were a child propelling her to act more and more like a child. I suppose this is something they both need at the time: for him, a complacent wife who is one hundred percent faithful, unlike his last one. For her, someone to take care of her; something she was missing in her childhood. Either way, I personally think that is too big of an age gap and will stick with my two years younger, five years older age range.

- We all consider Rebecca to be the villain of the novel, but could we actually see her as a misunderstood woman who was born in the wrong time period? If she were born about 70 years later, Rebecca could be free to be sexually promiscuous without judgment. She wouldn’t have to marry to receive status and she would have had access to better medical care for her condition. Or she would have turned out more manipulative and dangerous like Amy in Gone Girl.

- Since we are talking about a famous Daphne in this post, I just want to give a shout out to a famous Daphne in my life: my childhood Labrador. For fifteen years, my Daphne brought me joy and love. R.I.P. my pretty princess <3

Pictures

- book cover: http://www.booksatruestory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Rebecca-Daphne-Du-Maurier.jpg 

- film poster: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/16/Rebecca_1940_film_poster.jpg 

- Quote: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/b9/00/ec/b900ecd0ded37dd441873e87c1294597.jpg