While Rebecca describes the struggle between good and evil, My Cousin Rachel explores the nature of good and evil. The narrator, Philip Ashley, shifts from one opinion to another as he desperately tries to discover whether Rachel is a murderer and greedy conniver or a hapless victim of circumstance and misguided men. Because Philip ultimately solves the problem of Rachel by killing her, readers must also judge whether Philip has wrongly killed an innocent woman, or struck a necessary blow against evil. As the novel vividly shows, the presence of evil is not easily recognizable, and the true worth of a person is highly subjective.
My Cousin Rachel also addresses the role economic independence plays in a person's life. Rachel marries Ambrose because she wants economic security.
Their marriage appears to threaten Philip's financial.....
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