World War II was a rather infamous war. From the darkness of the Holocaust, to the antisemitism, to the loss of life from both sides, it's clear that the war left its mark on many people. However, during this time, many of the German soldiers decided to use a special code to try to communicate with other soldiers. This code was taken out of the pages of a certain book, a book which later was revealed as Rebecca by Daphne du Maurice. Though the code was never used out of fear that it was compromised, it speaks volumes of just how much influence this book carried. However, though the book continues to be praised today, the book is also incredibly dark.

Rebecca tells the story of a young woman who, after a week of dating, is married to a wealthy man named George Fortesque Maximilian de Winter. She later goes to be with him in his mansion in Cornwall. There, she meets the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who was loyal to George’s first wife, Rebecca. The narrator starts to doubt George's love for her, believing that he is still in love with his first wife. It all comes to a head when Mrs. Danvers manages to get the narrator to wear one of Rebecca’s old dresses, a dress she wore when she died. After a series of even more frightening events, including the fact that Mrs. Danvers tries getting the narrator to kill herself, George finally reveals that the marriage he and Rebecca had had was loveless.

The two hated each other with a passion, so much so that Rebecca had started a series of affairs to spite her husband. It wasn't long before she told him that she was pregnant with someone else’s child, and that she was going to raise him as her son, that there was nothing he could do. In a fit of rage, George shot Rebecca in the heart. It was also revealed that Mrs. Danvers had an obsession with Rebecca, simply because she believed the woman was virtuous. Finally, a letter from Rebecca’s first love stated that Rebecca herself wanted George to kill her, simply because she couldn't stomach being in pain while dying so very slowly. The book ends with George’s mansion being set on fire, presumably by Mrs. Danvers.

The book was incredibly haunting, to say the least. It doesn't take the traditional approach that other gothic works do, because the brooding love interest is trying to escape from something by hiding the past. Despite everything, however, the age-old concept that the past will always come back to haunt you is true, especially for George. What's more, because of it, both Mrs. Danvers and his second wife are later pulled into it. This is a source of Rebecca’s anger. She was a vain manipulator who wanted everything but could give nothing. She destroyed herself in the end when she couldn't get her way, whether it was out of vanity or some unknown cry for help. And because of it, both she and everyone she ever lied to were destroyed. It's a sad tale with a rather bittersweet ending, though even then, it can also represent a new chapter in both George's and his second wife’s lives. What happens next is up for interpretation.

Rebecca has left a lasting legacy on the literary world. The character, Mrs. Danvers, has inspired many different works, ranging from the likes of Stephen King to Jasper Fforde. Other works like Fifty Shades Darker and Danielle Steel’s Vanished have also mentioned Rebecca. It's clear then that to this day Rebecca remains a rather dark shadow within the corners of our minds, haunting us just as Rebecca’s memory haunted the narrator. It's a macabre fame that has enchanted many artists to this day.