Daphne du maurier, don't look now

Essay: Dont Look Now: by Daphne du Maurier “ Life was sometimes lovely and sometimes rather sad”….. Dont Look Now. “ Don’t Look Now”, was a short story written by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1970, it was referred to as a “ novella” due to its length, it had such an impact that it re-established Daphne du Maurier’s position as a serious writer. Du Maurier, was initially dismissed by the literary establishment for being a feminist romantic and was also referred to as “ too readable” to be literary, due to her immense popularity and readership. This novel was later adopted and made into a movie thriller in 1973 due to its huge success worldwide.
The novel is a strange, bitter and sweet tale of suspense, romance and a taste of the supernatural. Dont look now” is the mystical and wistful story of a British couple named, John and Laura, who are on a vacation in Venice. They are on holiday in order to escape, from the pain and heartbreak of their young daughter Christine’s recent death. They are also on a rebound, striving to bring back the fun, laughter and romance in their marriage, which seems to have diminished after the tragedy. However, quite contradictory to their expectations, Venice soon becomes a hazardous place for them too, as a series of paranormal events unfold, when they meet two old Scottish sisters at a café. There comes a twist in the plot, when the blind sister claims that she can see the ghost of their deceased daughter uniting with them. All their claims make Laura extremely happy and rekindle a flame of hope in her dull and dim, sad life, and she is suddenly drawn towards the two sisters.
An interesting aspect of Du Maurier’s literature was that quite unusually, she wrote from the perspective of the male protagonist, and exceptionally good at that. This story is also told from the rationalist, sensitive and edgy point of view of John, the male lead. John begins the story by describing the trauma and distress her wife is going through, after the shocking tragedy, as it is driving her to the point of hysteria, John is feeling anxious and helpless, at her ordeal and finds very hard to see the unsettling state of mind of his beloved wife. After the two sisters claimed to have seen Christine’s ghost, Laura becomes very ecstatic and that upsets John even more. The two sisters, kept referring to having the “ gift” of second sight, which John instantly dismisses, as he does not believe in ghosts, instead he feels very uncomfortable by seeing Laura’s immediate interest in those women. Laura’s sudden happiness seems like a betrayal to John, who is still a grieving parent and Laura’s attitude makes him feel, as if she had moved on and he is alone in his sadness and grief, and that makes his life even bitter.
“ Don’t Look Now” basically revolves around, the risks associated with the daring act of “ looking”, sometimes you are urged towards looking “ too closely” or not enough close, and at times both ways simultaneously. The story is all about doubts, doubles, dark patches and mistaken identities. It tells us that we cannot trust what we think we see, what we deny seeing may just bring our downfall. John refuses to believe those women and is scared by them, the truth may just be out there and he is too terrified to see it. All these chills and thrills, make “ Don’t look now” a tender yet spooky read, and an emotionally well knit ghost story.
Daphne du Maurier masterfully crafts this tale of delusion and despair, as it is evident that she sensitively captures the blurred line, between fantasy and reality. What lies in between is the realm of subjectivity; it is the scariest and at times loneliest place to be. The subject in this story is the natural vulnerability of the closely knit family unit. The family is exposed to the rough outside world, with all its horrors. And it is about the desperate, frantic yet persistent and determined attempt of parents to defend it, and safeguard themselves against the harsh realities of life, instead of giving up to the fear of the unseen.
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