@bbmaybe’s [name_m]Hitchcock[/name_m] CAF got me thinking: What would you name the second Mrs. De [name_u]Winter[/name_u]? Despite being the protagonist of [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f], her name is never revealed. She is quite innocent and nieve.
This is such a great idea! I second [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], and [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] ([name_f]Peggy[/name_f]!). Maybe [name_f]Beatrice[/name_f] or [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f]?
Ooh, I love this. Since she’s the opposite of [name_f]Rebecca[/name_f], which sounds strong, bold, and a little harsh, I feel like something quite soft and flowy would work, like [name_f]Nellie[/name_f], [name_f]Faye[/name_f], [name_f]Constance[/name_f], [name_f]Eliza[/name_f], [name_f]Florence[/name_f]…
Since [name_u]Anne[/name_u] [name_f]Bronte[/name_f] was one of [name_f]Du[/name_f] Maurier’s favorite writers, I’ve always thought of the second Mrs de [name_u]Winter[/name_u] as [name_u]Anne[/name_u].
Given the era of the 1920s, when the character would have been born, she could also have been [name_f]Barbara[/name_f], [name_f]Helen[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_u]Joan[/name_u], or [name_f]Susan[/name_f]. I suspect her name would have been plain and solidly middle class.
There is a line in the book that her name is unusual and frequently misspelled. [name_f]My[/name_f] personal theory is that it’s [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], after [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] du Maurier herself.