Rebecca - The First Wife is a film that marks a landmark moment in Alfred Hitchcock's filmography, a work that demonstrates his extraordinary ability to adapt literary material beyond the thriller genre and to create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery even in an apparently "romantic" setting.

The film, adapted from Daphne du Maurier's novel, is a fascinating psychological study of the characters, an exploration of the shadows of the past and the obsessions that can torment the human mind.

Rebecca was Alfred Hitchcock's first true masterpiece.

And it was precisely by virtue of his immense directorial talent in transforming into cinema a novel certainly detached from the "crime" genre tout court and more akin to a stylized melodrama.

a film that captivates with its formal elegance, its psychological depth, and its ability to create tension and suspense without resorting to scenes of explicit violence.

Rebecca is a complex love story over which a ghost from a dark and looming past hovers.

The story begins with a casual encounter in Monte Carlo between a young woman, shy and naive, and Maxim de Winter, a rich and charming man who has recently lost his wife, Rebecca.

The two fall in love and marry, but upon their return to the majestic Manderley estate in Cornwall, the young bride finds herself grappling with the burdensome memory of Rebecca, who seems to still be present in every corner of the house.

Rebecca's invisible presence is fueled by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, who was devotedly attached to her former mistress and harbors a deep hostility towards the new Mrs. de Winter.

The young woman, insecure and fragile, feels inadequate and unable to compete with the ghost of Rebecca, who seems to be perfect in everything.

While trying to find her place at Manderley, the young bride uncovers dark secrets about Rebecca's past and her marriage to Maxim, secrets that will severely test their love and happiness.

Rebecca is an absent character, a ghost that hovers over Manderley and is constantly evoked by memories, objects, and the words of other characters.

Her invisible presence creates an atmosphere of mystery and unease, and fuels the insecurities of the second Mrs. de Winter.

Her omnipresent aura manifests as a kind of latent double of the woman.

The theme of the female double is, moreover, a kind of obsession and a hallmark of Hitchcock's cinema; it will reappear in films like Vertigo and Psycho in a more profound and darker way.

The double often represents the shadowy and repressed aspect of the personality.

The fears, obsessions, and hidden desires that lurk behind it constitute an inescapable source of fascination for a director obsessed with the psychology of his characters.

The double can also be interpreted as a manifestation of the Freudian unconscious, an image that emerges from the shadow to question the subject's conscious identity.

But the concept of the Shadow, as put forth by Jung, also closely approaches the theme of the Hitchcockian double and certainly enriches its ultimate meaning.

Indeed, it is worth remembering that for Jung, the Shadow comprises the dark and unconscious aspects of the personality that are repressed or denied.

In conclusion, the theme of the double in Hitchcock's cinema draws from various psychological theories and concepts, deepening the understanding of the human psyche and its complexities.

The double, be it a ghost, a rival, or a repressed aspect of the personality, represents a key element to explore themes such as identity, the unconscious, interpersonal relationships, and the perception of reality.

In Sir Alfred's hands, it is the most powerful narrative tool to dissect the minds of his characters and expose them with scientific dedication to the public scrutiny of the audience in the theater.