The Deconstruction of Masculinity in Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca

Abstract

Masculinity has been a social issue that can also be covered in literary works. In this context, this issue is brought up in Rebecca, portraying Maxim de Winter, the main male character, as a masculine figure. According to his behavior, his wealth, and his relationship with other characters in the novel. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method with textual analysis. The theoretical framework of this research is the concept of masculinity and Deconstruction theory by Jacqués Derrida. This research aims to prove how deconstruction theory works by deconstructing Maxim de Winter’s masculinity. This research unveils that binary oppositions have the same position and power. Binary oppositions are interrelated and act as complementary and not as the opposite of certain meanings. The findings expose that Maxim represents traditional masculinity deconstructed his own masculinity by showing the side of him that does not represents traditional masculinity. By analyzing the binary oppositions, différance, presence and absence which are the important parts in deconstruction theory, this research found that meaning is always unstable according to the context of the meaning itself which is linear to deconstruction theory found by Derrida.