Rebecca is a novel by Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1938. It tells the story of a young woman named Mrs. de Winter, who becomes the second wife of a wealthy and mysterious widower named Maxim de Winter. The novel is set in the early 20th century and is narrated by the new Mrs. de Winter, who is never given a name.
In chapter 1 of Rebecca, the narrator begins by describing her life before she met Maxim de Winter. She was a paid companion to a wealthy, elderly woman named Mrs. Van Hopper, who treated her poorly and was constantly critical of her. One day, while they were staying at a luxury hotel in Monte Carlo, the narrator met Maxim de Winter. He was a handsome, wealthy man who was staying at the same hotel with his sister, Beatrice.
Maxim and the narrator quickly became close, and he confided in her about his recent loss of his wife, Rebecca. Rebecca was beautiful, charismatic, and much loved by all who knew her. Despite her own reservations, the narrator agreed to marry Maxim and become the new mistress of Manderley, his grand estate in England.
As the narrator and Maxim begin their journey back to Manderley, the narrator reflects on her feelings of inadequacy and insecurity. She knows that she can never measure up to the memory of Rebecca, and she is worried about how she will be received by the staff and residents of Manderley. When they arrive, the narrator is immediately struck by the grandeur and beauty of the estate, as well as the cold reception she receives from the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.
As the chapter ends, the narrator is left with a feeling of unease and uncertainty about her new role as the mistress of Manderley. She knows that she has a lot to learn, and she is not sure if she is up to the task.
‘Rebecca’ Chapter One: An Analysis
But then, the ghost does not need to actually appear, for it has a living spokesperson in the house, representing its interests. At first the coroner seems likely to return a verdict of accidental death. Rebecca's defining characteristics are her buoyant and spirited nature. Several chapters in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm are very short. She remembers the dog, Jasper, the newspapers she used to read, and other intimate details of the house.
Chapter 1 Summary In the introduction of Rebecca, the author describes a dream she recently had. Her terminal illness now supplies a motive for Rebecca's supposed suicide, and Maxim is saved. He tells her that he knows Rebecca's death wasn't suicide, and that he aims to see justice done. But while the heroine loves him, and he seems to loves her, there still persists a distance between them, a distance that becomes obvious during her first months as mistress of Manderley. Rebecca's father died several years ago and Rebecca must take on many responsibilities at home to help their mother.
The gothic tradition includes stories where supernatural, frightening events and highly charged emotions pervade sometimes isolated, grand castles. The housekeeper is civil and respectful, but in her manner the heroine nervously senses an undercurrent of hostility and resentment, and she is relieved when Maxim comes upstairs to complete the tour with them. She imagines going into the library and finding things as they used to be. Danvers for letting Jack Favell into the house. The heroine, who remains nameless, lives in Europe with her husband, Maxim de Winter, traveling from hotel to hotel, harboring memories of a beautiful home called Manderley, which, we learn, has been destroyed by fire. Van Hopper feels ill, and the narrator goes into the dining room alone.
He greets the narrator, and the narrator thinks that she finds him very formal. Danvers's suggestion she wears a costume that, it turns out, is the same dress that Rebecca wore at the last ball. But then the ship-builder's testimony dashes that hope, as he reveals that the boat was sunk deliberately, and the questions from the coroner turn sharper. . After the body is officially identified, Maxim must participate in an inquest to determine the cause of death. Words, words, words… well said Hamlet! Chapters 3-4 As Chapter 3 opens, the narrator is musing about what her life might have been like if her employer, Mrs. She tells him that everyone in her new life compares her to Rebecca.
In refusing to pay blackmail to Favell and calling on Colonel Julyan, Maxim seems to be acting against his own interests. The next day, Manderley undergoes a transformation. Its heroine, symbolically nameless, comes to Manderley and finds herself competing with the ghost of her husband's dead wife. Beatrice gives her sister-in-law art books for a wedding gift, knowing the girl is fond of painting. Finally, Rebecca is a masterfully plotted suspense novel; the narrative turns on two unexpected twists.
The revelations about her personality set the tone for the rest of the novel. When divers swim near the grounded ship, they find the wreckage of Rebecca's sailboat, with Rebecca's dead body in the hold. After returning the housekeeper's welcome, she is led inside by Maxim, and is met by his two cocker spaniels. Throughout the first chapter it is unclear how the narrator is related to Manderley, but it is clear that Manderley is not quite tangible to the narrator. Danvers, the narrator is close to committing suicide when she hears the sound of rockets hitting the shore: a ship has run aground at the cove. . At this point it is unclear what class the narrator belongs too, but perhaps the inclusion of this trope foreshadows some sort of class conflict, or degeneration, as reflected by the physical appearance of Manderley itself.
The narrator learns more about Rebecca in the coming weeks. One day, the narrator pays a visit to the wife of the local bishop. Danvers around, changing menus, and generally asserting herself. The narrator asks Frank about Ben, the mentally challenged man who was working on the Manderley grounds. Chapter 25-26 The narrator and Maxim fear that Dr.
As part of this script, she has to visit houses in the area and pretend to be polite and gracious to her neighbors. Memories of Manderley like that aren't painful, she decides in her dream. . . When he has convinced her that he is serious in his proposal, the heroine accepts, and he volunteers to break the news to Mrs. Maxim, Frank, and the heroine return to Manderley, and then Maxim goes out again, to attend the burial of Rebecca's body in a nearby churchyard.
But hope flags again with the interference of Favell. She recalls servants' and hotel clerks' slights and the boorish behavior of Mrs. Chapters 5-6 As Chapter 5 opens, the narrator reflects on falling in love with Maxim and on the nature of first love from her prese. Everyone at Manderley knows about Rebecca, and yet no one seems particularly willing to talk about her. The newspapers are full of the story the next day, playing up the sensational angle, and making Maxim look like a heartless man who married a young girl while his wife's grave was still fresh.
They move from city to city, from hotel to hotel, but cannot help remembering Manderley, a beautiful English estate that they have been forced to leave behind. Danvers, and generally establishes her authority as mistress of the house, all of which comes as a palpable relief after so many months of insecurity and her consistent failure to overcome Rebecca's ghost. Rebecca is going to stay with her Analysis Rebecca presents herself as a happy child but her conversations with Mr. She also meets While Maxim is away from Manderley, the narrator returns home to find Mrs. Maxim returns, with Frank, and insists that Favell leave at once, but Rebecca's cousin takes out a note that she sent him on the night she died, telling him to meet her at the cottage, because she had something important to tell him. Chapters 13-14 When Maxim goes to London for business at the end of June, the narrator is at first worried that something will happen.
