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Artworks
Rebecca de Rochelle, who later married Norwegian tennis pro Hans Stierenholm, was the sister of Catherine and Georg Nicholai de Rochelle. Literally green-eyed, Rebecca was intensely jealous of Catherine’s rule, often referring to herself as a princess. She became equally jealous of her brother when he assumed the monarchy following Catherine’s death, and later supported the Neo-Populist Party’s attempted to dethrone her brother.
Personal Significance:
Rebecca simultaneously represented Renaldo’s sibling rivalry with his sister, and his mother’s enmity towards his father during the years on the ranch.
Influence:
Kuhler named Rebecca after the titular character from the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca. Although Hitchcock’s Rebecca never actually appears in the film itself, having died before the story begins, her ghostly likeness was represented by an illustration on a movie poster, holding a pose similar to that in Kuhler’s illustration. Jealousy is a prominent theme of the film, and of the novel upon which it was based.