In Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier, the narrator's perception of self changes over the course of the romance novel. This can be observed by scrutinizing her perception of self at the beginning of the novel, soon after she arrives at Manderly, the famous mansion where her new husband, Maxim DeWinter, lives, and after she hears Maxim's revelation: he killed his first wife, Rebecca, because he thought she would have a son who would not be his, yet still be the heir of Manderly.

Initially, the narrator sees herself as very inferior to the upper class society of whom she mingles as a companion to Mrs. Van Hopper. "I know he (Maxim) did not want to eat lunch with me. It was his for of courtesy." She also perceives herself as a child, someone much too young to understand what to do in certain situations. She shows that she...