Last Night I Dreamt I Went to Manderley Again: Social Class in Hollywood Film

            It is not uncommon for Hollywood film to delve on the subject of class. Since the early days of cinema, films have both centered on the issues of social class and, more often than not, hinted at social class discreetly.

            The United States was founded, in part, in hopes of eliminating the firm class system seen in England at the time. “One of the many reasons the 13 colonies broke away from England in the first place was a revolt over the strictness of the British class system” (Benshoff and Griffin 167). Despite this goal, to have a nation without such a strongly defined class system, America does indeed see obvious social and economic stratification. This stratification, in turn, gets imbedded into Hollywood films.

            The book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (published in 1938) is my all time favorite. In 1940 it was made into a film (also one of my favorites) with the same title, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In Rebecca, social class is a topic referred to throughout and plays a key part in the story. The main character, a young woman known only as Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine), is continuously reminded of her low social status before marrying the owner of Manderley estate, Maxim de Winter (Sir Laurence Olivier). It is a fact that haunts her throughout the film. Much of the storyline revolves around her believed inability to manage an estate of that size because she has not lived a wealthy life in the upper class.

            Other characters also do not believe Mrs. de Winter capable of living such a life among the upper class. Mrs. Van Hopper (Florence Bates) is the woman who employed her as a “paid companion” before her marriage to Maxim. When Mrs. Van Hopper learned they were to be married she said, “You certainly have your work cut out as mistress of Manderley. To be perfectly frank with you my dear, I can’t see you doing it, you haven’t the experience, you haven’t the faintest idea what it means to be a great lady” (Rebecca). The head maid, the villainous Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), is in complete doubt of Mrs. de Winter’s ability to run the estate as well, and continuously compares her to the former Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca, who was a lady of wealth and social standing.

            There are more subtle hints to class as well. For example, we see how one is treated differently based on their social standing in the scene in the restaurant in Monte Carlo. When the (soon to be) Mrs. de Winter is sitting alone in the restaurant, the waiters are very standoffish, as she is simply a lower class citizen. After the wealthy estate owner, Maxim, brings her over to his table though, they are extremely attentive and gracious towards her.

            Though our country has seen great progress in equality since it’s formation (and since Rebecca was written and filmed), there is still a firm class system and wide division of wealth today. This is seen in Hollywood films, both from the past and present. Whether or not movies focus on the class system is up to the writers and directors. But even if it’s not meant to be highlighted, you will see notions of class in Hollywood films, as it is so largely a part of our society.

Works Cited

Benshoff, Harry M. and Sean Griffin. America On Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. 2^nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.

Rebecca. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Florence Bates, and Judith Anderson. Selznick International Pictures. United Artists, 1940. Film.

Image: Vallows-Dancy, Alan. “Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock).” 2 or 3 Things I Know About Film. Google Blogger. Google. Web.