[Commlist] CFP: Reimagining Rebecca @ University of Sussex

Call for Papers:
Reimagining /Rebecca/: a symposium on du Maurier's novel and its legacy.
University of Sussex, 27th May 2022.

*

“I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love,” writes 
Daphne du Maurier in her 1938 domestic Gothic novel Rebecca. But to look 
at Rebecca’s legacy is to see the fever of love for the story itself 
happen over and over again. Its influences on the 20th century domestic 
gothic and 21st century domestic noir literary genres have been well 
documented, while it has been adapted for the screen multiple times, 
most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940 and Ben Wheatley in 2020. 
Literary sequels have been penned by Susan Hill in 1993 (Mrs. de Winter) 
and Sally Beauman in 2001 (Rebecca’s Tale), while Taylor Swift has 
recently spoken of the novel as inspiration for her song ‘Tolerate It’ 
on her 2020 album Evermore. The novel has won multiple awards, 
consistently proving its enduring influence and popularity, even while 
it has been accused of plagiarism for its similarities to other novels 
traversing comparable thematic ground, perhaps complicating such a clear 
cut idea of 'Rebecca and its legacy'.

Such a sprawling, complex and ever-developing legacy illustrates the 
indelible mark Rebecca has left on popular culture, but, as du Maurier 
suggests, the fever of first love might never be truly replicated. How, 
then, can we consider the lasting impact of Rebecca, particularly 
through its many adaptations? What is perhaps lost in the retelling of 
this tale, and how might it have been changed and updated to rekindle 
something of that feverish first love for new audiences? In what ways do 
these adaptations cross boundaries of genre and media formats? What 
might this tell us about the nature of adaptation more generally, 
particularly in a contemporary climate obsessed with nostalgic remakes 
and revivals? And, looking to the past, to what extent can Rebecca even 
be considered a point of origin for this legacy, considering the long 
tradition of female Gothic fiction, for example, Jane Eyre?

This symposium will be held on Friday 27th May at Sussex University, 
aiming to explore these questions and beyond through examinations of du 
Maurier’s novel and its legacy: its feverish first love, its second 
wives, and its haunting, ghostly imprint on popular culture.

We would like to invite proposals for 20 minute presentations on any 
topic related to Rebecca and its legacy, which could include but are not 
limited to:


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    Landscape / Cornish Gothic

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    Domestic space

  *

    Formulations of family

  *

    Lesbian subtext

  *

    Iterations of masculinity and femininity

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    The second wife in domestic Gothic/noir

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    Traces of Rebecca across popular culture

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    Trans-media adaptations, e.g. adapting literature for music

  *

    Comparative explorations of different versions of Rebecca

  *

    Problematising Rebecca as point of origin: e.g. allegations of
    plagiarism, previous works of female Gothic etc.

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    Updating Rebecca for the 21st century

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    Adaptation & the contemporary culture of popular nostalgia

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    The evolution of women’s literary/cinematic genres

Please submit abstracts of 250 words, plus a short bio of 50 words, by 
March 7th 2022 to the organisers, Katharina Hendrickx 
((K.Hendrickx /at/ sussex.ac.uk)) and Amelia Crowther 
((Amelia.Crowther /at/ sussex.ac.uk)). Scholars of all stages are welcome to 
submit proposals, but we particularly encourage submissions from 
postgraduate and doctoral students and early career researchers. Please 
also send any questions to the above email addresses.

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