The creation of the atmosphere of terror in Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel

Abstract

Although Daphne du Maurier has always been recognised for her atmospheric stories ridden with darkness and suspense, the critical analysis of her work as part of the Gothic tradition is relatively recent. For this reason, the aim of the present thesis is to further contribute to the analysis of du Maurier’s novels as specifically Gothic by exploring how she employs select Gothic elements in her novel My Cousin Rachel in order to create an atmosphere of terror. The main purpose is to examine, based on the examples from the book, which Gothic elements she has chosen to achieve such an atmosphere and what effect it is meant to have on the characters as well as readers.