Rebecca key quotes

What do you think of Monte Carlo, or don’t you think of it at all?

Maxim posing a question to the narrator to get her involved in the conversation. Chp3

This including of me in the conversation found me at my worst, the raw ex-schoolgirl, red-elbowed and lanky-haired

Narrator describing how uncomfortable she feels at being included in the conversation. Chp3

Time itself could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls, nor the site itself, a jewel in the hollow of a hand

Narrator describing how time cannot wreck their memories of Manderley. Hyperbolic language, metaphor, connotations of power and control. Chp1

“choked with grass and moss”, “gnarled roots looked like skeleton claws”, “black and ugly”

Description of how nature has taken over manderley (metaphor/foreshadowing for Rebecca winning and retaining control of Manderley). Juxt. of a semantic field of nature and semantic field of death. Chp1

For Manderley was ours no longer. Manderley was no more.

Last lines of chapter 1, narrator saying they no longer had Manderley. Chp1

I can see myself, memory spanning the years like a bridge… dressed in an ill-fitting coat and skirt

Narrator first thinking back to her youth and how awkward she was. Key simile that reflects the power of memory that keeps one tied to the past Chp2

It was a painting of the house, crudely done of course and highly coloured… I paid twopence for the painting - half my weekly pocket money

Narrator describing buying the postcard of Manderley. Could be used to talk about class differences. Chp4

I was aware again of that feeling of discomfort, as though I had trespassed on forbidden ground

Narrator describing Maxim’s reaction when she first broached the topic of Manderley to him whilst in Monte Carlo. Simile, quite literally establishing Manderley as “forbidden ground”, verb choice of “trespassed”, could link to exclusivity of the aristocracy. Chp3

the name Rebecca stood out black and strong, the tall and sloping R dwarfing the other letters

Narrator describing R’s handwriting Chp4

I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden too, whatever the poets may say. “bruised”, “wounded”, “lashing”, “stake”

Narrator commenting on the pains of first love, plus semantic field of violence and conflict narrator uses in rest of passage to describe the sensation. Chp5

If only there was an invention… that bottled up a memory, like scent

Narrator wishing to bottle up memory whilst she was still young, juxt. Maxim’s attitude Chp5

I wish I was a woman of about thirty-six dressed in black satin with a string of pearls

Narrator’s specific wish to be older Chp5

Monte Carlo was suddenly full of kindness and charm, the one place in the world that held sincerity… I wanted to live there all my life

Narrator unhappy at having to leave monte carlo, complete juxt. to her previous attitude, describing MC as “artificial”. Shows how her perception of place is shaped by those around her, perhaps foreshadowing how her relationship with M will drastically changes when they leave MC. Also personifies MC in a way

I’m asking you to marry me, you little fool

M’s proposal to the narrator

I don’t belong to your sort of world for one thing / What is my world?

Narrator explaining why she can’t accept M’s proposal / his response. Shows his complete unawareness of how their class divides them, except she is acutely aware of this as structurally, this is one of the first things she says after he proposes

It’s a pity you have to grow up.

M on the narrator’s youth. Good quote to show that he likes her because she is so different from R

Mrs de Winter. I would be Mrs de Winter.

Repeated sentence fragment + sentence when the realisation sinks in that she will be Mrs de Winter. Repetition = shows what her priority is, cares more about her change in status than any connection with Maxim. Use of sentence fragments/short sentences = conveys a sense of exhilaration.

Not like him asking Rebecca…. (elipsis incl) I must not think of that. A thought forbidden, prompted by demons. Get thee behind, Satan. I must never think about that, never, never, never.

Narrator comparing her proposal with R’s. Also trying to expel thoughts of Rebecca from her mind. Repetition of imperative “must” suggests a sense of desperation, as mirrored by the repetition of “never”. Shows how, structurally from the beginning of their relationship, R’s legacy shaped their relationship (e.g. “You forget… I had that sort of wedding before”) Chp6

The letter R was the last to go… it curled outwards for a moment, becoming larger than ever.

Narrator describing burning’s R’s handwriting. The fact that the R grew largely shows how futile, perhaps even counterproductive, the narrator’s attempts to get rid of R’s presence are chp6

“they startled me with their crimson faces” “the slaughterous red, luscious and fantastic, unlike any rhododendron plant I had seen before”

Narrator describing being overwhelmed by the rhododendrons when arriving at Manderley. Structurally, one of the first things she notices about Man - combined with lang choices, shows how inescapable R’s presence is at man. Personification and semantic field of blood furthers this menacing atmosphere. chp7

“dressed in deep black”, “a skull’s face… set on a skeleton’s frame”

Structurally, narrator’s first description of Mrs Danvers. wearing black = connotations of mourning (mourning R). Semantic field of death (“black”, “skull”, “skeleton”). Metaphor. chp7

I knew her eye to be upon me

Narrator when she first met Mrs D, good quote to show how the narrator is constantly being watched (and thus compared to R - link to Mrs D keeping R’s memory alive) Chp7

“making vanished weeks a brief discarded holiday”

Narrator talking about how M’s behaviour (and their relationship) changed when they returned to Manderley. brief discarded holiday” - makes the early stages of their relationship trivial. Makes the narrator’s life seem comparatively unimportant, esp. given narratively, the earliest point chronologically we are introduced to the narrator is when her relationship with M starts - it is abundantly clear he has a life beyond that

Unconsciously, I shivered as though someone had opened the door behind me and let a draught in the room. I was sitting in Rebecca’s chair, I was leaning against Rebecca’s cushion

Last paragraph of chpater 7. Talking about R’s presence, also bringing in Gothic convention.

I noticed for the first time how cramped and unformed was my own hand-writing… the writing of an indifferent pupil; taught in a second-rate school

Last lines of chapter 8. Narrator talking about how bad her handwriting is, allusion to R although R not explicity referenced. Reference to her “second-rate” upbringing, highlights class difference. “for the first time” - insecurities being exacerbated by R’s grandeur

black sentinel

Narrator describing Mrs D standing outside R’s room, word choice implies she’s almost guarding it (guarding her memory) Chp8

I knew nothing of that preceding year, no details of the tragedy… Maxim kept these things to himself, I questioned him never

narrator reflecting on how she doesn’t know anything about what happened in the past at Manderley and how M keeps it all to himself. Chp9

I can tell by the way you dress you don’t care a hoot what you wear

Beatrice commenting on the narrator’s clothes, structurally during their first meeting. Good quote to use to compare with R’s depiction. Chp9

I thought Maxim would have told you. She simply adored Rebecca.

Beatrice telling the narrator why Mrs D is so unhappy at her being at Manderley, reassuring her it is not personal but rather because of R. Also again highlights how little M tells the narrator about the goings on at Manderley. Chp9

I wanted to be alone with Maxim again, and that it would be like we were in Italy

Narrator whilst talking to Beatrice, wishing to be alone with Maxim and be back in Italy. Chp9

You’re not a bit what I expected… you are so very different from Rebecca.

One of the last lines of Chp9. Beatrice’s final words to the narrator after their first meeting. Massive comparison with R

The spell of the Happy Valley was upon me. This at last was the core of Manderley, the Manderley I would know and learn to love.

Narrator talking about Happy Valley. Connotations of supernatural, metaphor. Also suggestion that either it is the narrator’s future voice reflecting back on the experience, or that she was trying to will herself to love Manderley - ambiguous.

The vanished scent upon the handkerchief was the same as the crushed white petals of the azaleas in the Happy Valley.

Last line of Chp10. Narrator smelling R’s handkerchief and realising it smelled of the Happy Valley, reminder that every part of Manderley that the narrator love was controlled and loved by R before her.

I have a fearful haunting feeling that I should never have married Maxim… I know that all the time, whenever I meet anyone new, they are all thinking the same thing - how different she is to Rebecca.

Narrator in her outburst to Frank. Talking about how she feels she shouldn’t’ve married Maxim, links this to her feeling that she cannot fill Rebecca’s shoes and her concern that others perceive her as so different to R. Chp 11

I realize, every day, that things I lack, confidence, grace, beauty, intelligence… she possesed.

Narrator in her outburst to Frank. Talking about all the qualities R had that she does not. Chp11

I suppose she was the most beautiful creature I ever saw in my life

Frank’s response when the narrator asks him “was Rebecca very beautiful?”. One of the last lines of Chp11 but STRUCTURALLY also follows Frank’s descriptions of how the narrator is superior to the slightly sinister Rebecca, adding a sinister side to her beauty

It’s up to you, you know, to lead us away from [the past]

Frank telling the narrator it is up to her to move Manderley away fro mthe past Chp11

A husband is not so very different from a father after all. There is a certain type of knowledge I prefer you not to have. It’s better kept under lock and key.

Maxim when they’re sitting at the table, after the narrator is picturing herself as Rebecca and M asks her why she’s making all these weird faces. M says this as they tip-toe closer to the topic of Rebecca. Chapter 16

I looked away from him so he should not see my face. What did it matter whether I understood him or not? My heart was light like a feather floating in the air. He had never loved Rebecca

Narrator reflecting on how M never loved R after his confession. Also still shows a level of secrecy Chapter 19

He had not kissed me like this before… he went on kissing me, hungry, desperate, murmuring my name

Narrator describing Maxim kissing her after his confession. Chapter 19. Maybe link to critical view from Buzwhatever about Rebecca’s name dominating over the characters

“How calm I am,” I thought. “How cool. Here I am looking at the piece of curtain, and Maxim is kissing me”

Narrator’s numb feelings as Maxim is kissing her. Chapter 19

I knew then what I had done, what I had married. Beauty, brains, and breeding. Oh my god!

Maxim talking about what Rebecca told him at the top of the cliff Chapter 19

If I had a child, Max… neither you, nor anyone in the world, would ever prove that it was not yours.

R, one of the few bits of dialogue from her. Chapter 20

There were no shadows between us any more, and when we were silent it was because the silence came to us of our own asking.

Narrator describing how her and M’s relationship changed following the confession. Chp21

he came to me like a child… I held him and comforted him as though he were Jasper

Subversion of power dynamics in M and narrator’s dynamic. Chapter 25

the sensation was one of almost unbearable relief… like the bursting of an abcess

Narrator talking about feeling relief after getting past “our crisis”. last chaptre

We did not get on. We were not companions. We were not suited to one another. I was too young for Maxim, too inexperienced, and, more important still, I was not of his world. The fact that I loved him in a sick, hurt, desperate way, like a child or a dog, did not matter. He wanted something else that I could not give him, something he had had before

Narrator when Mrs D is trying to get her to jump out the window. Narrator reflecting on why her and M wouldn’t work, and why that pained her so

The sky above our heads was inky black. But the sky on the horizon was not dark at all. It was shot with crimson, like a splash of blood. And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea.

Last lines of the novel.

His face was arresting, sensitive, medieval in some strange inexplicable way,  and I was reminded of a portrait in a gallery I had forgotten where, of a certain Gentleman Unknown

Narrator’s early impressions of Maxim’s appearance. Demonstrates early on his enigmatic nature, could also link to the idea of them being of two different worlds. Chp3

Max was her choice, the word was her possession

Narrator thinking about how R got to call M “Max”. Word choice starts to show how R still has possession of Manderley and all within it. Also makes the narrator seem slightly unreasonable to the reader - angry that his WIFE had greater privileges than someone he’s only known for a few days?? Chp6

I was free now to be with Maxim, to touch him, and hold him, and love him. I would never be a child again

Narrator saying about how she was free to be with Maxim after he revealed he never loved Rebecca and had murdered her. Chp19

They were both middle-aged and unromantic… They were very happy. Their marriage was a success. It had not failed after three months as mine had done.

narrator reflecting on success of Beatrice and Giles’ marriage compared to hers. Suggests a distorted view of love and marriage perhaps influenced by societal expectations

All memories are bitter and I prefer to ignore them. Something happened a year ago that altered my whole life, and I want to forget every phase in my existence up to that time

Maxim talking about how memories are painful to him and alluding to the events of his past. Juxtaposes the attitude of the narrator, hyperbole. Chp5

For one desperate moment I thought that something had happened to my brain, that I was seeing back into Time, and looking upon the room as it used to be, before she died… In a minute Rebecca herself would come back into the room

Narrator after having walked into Rebecca’s room by accident. Ellipsis and capitalisation of Time included in original text. Chp14

Instinctively I thought, “She is comparing me to Rebecca”; and sharp as a sword the shadow came between us…

Narrator, first reference to Rebecca in the book. Narrator thinking back to how Mrs Danvers would compare her to Rebecca and commenting on the lingering memory of Rebecca created divisions. However, there is a level of ambiguity as to whether she is referring to how divisions were being created between her and Mrs Danvers or her and Maxim (post-modern?). Ellipsis incl in text

I was free now to be with Maxim, to touch him, and hold him, and love him. I would never be a child again. It would not be I, I, I any longer; it would be we, it would be us.

Narrator reflecting on how her and Maxim could finally be together after the secret of Rebecca’s murder was revealed.

How lovely it was to be alone again. No, I did not mean that. It was disloyal, wicked. It was not what I meant. Maxim was my life and my world.

Narrator when she’s by herself at Manderley as Maxim is up in London. Shows a level of internal conflict and almost self-hatred for not being entirely devoted to Maxim. Declarative at the end almost seems like some sort of mantra she is trying to convince herself is true. Consequences of love. Chp13

“I could fight the living but I could not fight the dead”, her and Rebecca therefore did not “stand on common ground”, “Rebecca would never grow old. Rebecca would always be the same”

Narrator reflecting on how she cannot fight the dead, power of Rebecca. Could link to theme of time and memory. Chp18

There was nothing quite so shaming, so degrading as a marriage that had failed

Narrator reflecting on the failure of her marriage. Link to ideas about how other people’s perception of their marriage mattered greatly to the narrator. Chp18

“She knew I would sacrifice pride, honour, personal feelings, every damned quality on earth, rather than stand before our little world” and tell them about what Rebecca had said

Maxim reflecting on how Rebecca knew how important his image was to him and how she manipulated that. Link to ideas of class

Our marriage was a farce from the very first… never had one moment of happiness together

Maxim telling the narrator about how he never loved Rebecca. Chaptre 20

Would we never be together, he a man and I a woman, standing shoulder to shoulder, with no gulf between us? I did not want to be a child.

Narrator when Maxim is walking way ahead of her, questioning whether they will ever truly be together and be equals. Parallelism in describing the narrator’s wish to be equal

We were like two performers in a play, but we were divided, we were not acting with one another

Narrator when she’s standing next to Maxim at the costume ball. Acting metaphor