The film’s main conflict is between “I” and the ghost-like presence of Rebecca. Rather than use an actual spirit or flashbacks, Hitchcock builds Rebecca’s ghost through other physical and psychological elements. The physical include things like Rebecca’s address book, embroidered napkins and pillowcases, and, of course, the words and actions of Mrs. Danvers. The psychological include “I’s” own insecurities: is she smart and sophisticated enough? Does Maxim like her hair? Her clothes? Can she be as good a hostess as Rebecca was? In the wake of Rebecca’s death, can she ever make Maxim happy again? Will he ever love her more than he loved Rebecca? These insecurities climax in what is perhaps the film’s most famous scene, when Mrs. Danvers gives “I” a tour of Rebecca’s bedroom. It is during this scene that one may realize Mrs. Danvers was not only devoted to Rebecca, but probably in love with her.

One day, in an effort to prove herself capable of being a strong spouse to Maxim, “I” commits to hosting one of Manderley’s famous costume balls. In the lead-up to the event, Mrs. Danvers convinces “I” to dress as a woman in one of the de Winter family portraits. She assures “I” that it is one of Maxim’s favorites. But, on the night of the ball, when “I” presents herself to Maxim, it sends him into a rage; it was the exact costume Rebecca wore at the last ball before she died. “I” runs away in embarrassed fury after Mrs. Danvers, who tells “I” she will never come close to replacing Rebecca and almost convinces her to commit suicide. But, they are soon interrupted: a ship has run aground in the bay. The incident yields a second find: Rebecca’s wrecked ship with a body in the cabin; Rebecca’s body. An investigation into Maxim begins, who had previously identified another body as Rebecca’s. On the night of the discovery, “I” goes looking for Maxim, and finds him in their small sea cottage on the ground of Manderley. It is there he reveals his secret: he never loved Rebecca, he hated her. Their marriage was a sham from the beginning. She treated him cruelly and was pregnant with another man’s child, the child that would one day inherit Manderley. Maxim in his rage hit her, causing her to fall, hit her head and die. He then pushed her body out to sea and pretended to know nothing of it. This makes “I” happier than she has ever been at Manderley; Maxim loves her more than he ever loved Rebecca. It is during the subsequent trial that the couple are finally united. During the proceedings, it is learned that Rebecca visited a doctor just before her death. A visit to the doctor reveals that she had been diagnosed with cancer. Her death is ruled a suicide and Maxim is free. Upon learning of the news, Mrs. Danvers sets fire to Manderley and perishes in the flames; no woman other than Rebecca should be allowed to live in a home so beautiful. Though Manderley is now in flames, at the end of the film, Rebecca’s ghost has been destroyed and the couple can be together.

The first Hitchcockian element is the framing of the victim and the tormentor; a double shot Hitchcock employed throughout his films that, as Truffaut notes, originated in Rebecca. Moral ambiguity is often found in the films of Hitchcock, and this double shot, by showing both the hero and the villain, often forces the viewer to confront their emotional sympathies with each. The second essay concerns the fairy tale-like quality of Hitchcock’s films. Hitchcock often borrowed from the worlds of fairy tales in an attempt to add a layer of familiarity to his stories. In this way, viewers feel as if they know portions of the story ahead, but are surprised when it takes an unexpected turn. The third and final essay concerns necrophilia. A character being sexually attracted to a dead person is found throughout the films of Hitchcock, and especially in Rebecca . This essay compares Rebecca with Vertigo, arguably the example of a “Hitchcock” picture. All of these observations are based on exchanges between Hitchcock and Truffaut in Hitchcock.