REBECCA QUOTES EXPANDED (copy)

MRS VAN HOPPER

THOUGH I MUST SAY MONTE IS VERY DULL THIS WINTER

  • Use of the colloquialism from ‘monte carlo’ to ‘monte’, which highlights her own elevated status, perhaps subconsciously (and it is just the narrator socially isolating herself) or its a conscious effort in order to appear more than she actually is. The flippant tone is continued with the simple language of ‘very dull’ and the use of the time frame ‘this winter’ seems to be trivialising it further, highlighting her own status and reducing the narrator.

WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE? YOUR NOT ONE OF THE REGULARS

  • The use of the rhetorical question highlights the power and entitlement of the upper class, personified through Mrs Van Hopper and easily juxtaposes the narrator. The accusatory tone only reinforces this further, physically isolating the narrator from the circumstances.

I HEARD MRS VAN HOPPER GIVE HER FAT COMPLACENT LAUGH

  • The fact that Mrs Van Hopper is only ever referred to by her full name almost completely justaposes the narrator who has nothing. This also highlights the importance of class from the very offset of the novel. The dual adjective choice of ‘fat complacent’ also highlights the excessive consumption which is so normalised by the upper class (also seen through her pasta eating), which again wholly juxtaposes the way the narrator is presented.

FOR A MOMENT SHE LOOKED ANNOYED - THIS WAS NOT WHAT SHE HAD INTENDED

  • Overall it highlights the power of the aristocracy, with the fractured language perhaps mirroring the crumbling class structures that were occuring in England in the 1930s. The repeated use of the personal pronoun reinforces this as it appears to highlight her percieved power within this structure.

LIKE A LARGE COMPLACENT SPIDER SPUN HER WIDE NET OF TEDIUM ABOUT THE STRANGERS PERSON

  • The simile of ‘the spider’ highlights her dark nature, often seen as undesirable and an item that a large section of the population are actually afraid of. But, they are also a powerful animal, which is continued with the personal pronoun of ‘her’, which dictates a level of power that she must wield, yet this is juxtaposed with the dismissive adjective choice of ‘tedium’

SOMEHOW SHE WOULD MANAGE TO INTRODUCE HERSELF AND BEFORE HER VICTIM SCENTED DANGER

  • Use of animalistic imagery, but very subtly without any actual reference to an ‘animal’ perhaps highlighting the dangerous nature of the upper class, but showcases how it is hidden behind a veneer of aristocratic norms and values. Yet it does also highlight female power with the ‘possessive’ her victim.

MANDERLEY

AND FOR A WHILE I COULD NOT ENTER FOR THE WAY WAS BARRED TO ME

  • One of the very first lines in the book (from the first chapter) which thus makes it key. This sentence can however be interpretted in many ways, it could that it has physically burnt down, class barriers, age barriers or simply that the narrator is asleep. Nonetheless, the verb of ‘barred’ is increedibly harsh but this is juxtaposed by the opening ‘and for a while’ which implies that this can be broken (perhaps due to changing class and gender norms)

THERE WAS MANDERLEY, OUR MANDERLEY SECRETIVE AND SILENT AS IT HAD ALWAYS BEEN

  • Repition of Manderley serves to highlight its importance in the mindset of the narrator which is compounded by the use of the personal pronoun of ‘our’ which again occupies a place of great importance to the narrator and highlights how intertwined Manderley is with the marriage. Yet this is juxtaposed by the sibilance on the dual adjective choice of ‘secretive and silent’ which connotes that perhaps there is something more sinister working within.

THE RHODEDENDRENS STOOD FIFTY FEET HIGH, TWISTED AND ENTWINED WITH BRACKEN AND THEY HAD ENTERED AN ALIEN MARRIAGE WITH A HOST OF NAMELESS SHRUBS

  • The rhods often appear to symbolise Rebecca, and are thuis showcased to be completely intertwined with manderly as a place and are hugely overbearing. yet there appears to be something dangerous about the juxtaposing ‘alien’ and ‘marriage’, which perhaps is a subtle commentary on the outcome of the novel and the true actions of Rebecca.

AND THE ASHES BLEW TOWARD US WITH THE SALT WIND FROM THE SEA

  • Final line of the book, so very important structurally. Important that the final referral is to ‘us’ highlighting that the relationship still continues, or at least in a fashion that the narrator recognises. Yet this ‘us’ is juxtaposed by the ‘ashes’ which have been created by MRS DANVERS and the ‘sea’ which is continually assosciated with REBECCA, thus the relationship is literally surrounded by the ghosts of the past (very gothic)

THE PEACE OF MANDERLEY COULD NOT BE BROKEN OR THE LOVILNESS DESTROYED

  • Huge juxtaposition in tone between ‘peace’ and ‘lovilness’ and it being ‘destroyed’ perhaps higlights that there may very well be something more dangerous about Manderley than initially appears.

A HOUSE BEWITCHED CARVED OUT OF THE DARK

  • An incredibly gothic description, with the harsh adjective of ‘bewitched’ and verb of ‘carved’ highlights something incredibly dark and menacing. This appears typical of gothic literature where often the location appears pivotal within the overall novel.

YES, THERE IT WAS, THE MANDERLEY I HAD EXPECTED, THE MANDERLEY OF MY PICTURE POSTCARD LONG AGO.

  • Lots of punctuation which creates a very fragmented sentence pattern perhaps highlighting how insecure she feels and how little she fits in with Manderley. Moreover, the juxtaposition of Manderley and the dimuniutive, alliterative (plosive) ‘picture postcard’ really highlights the difference between the narrator and everyone else.

FAVELL

I MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE BURGLAR AND HE THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE

  • Juxtaposition between the idea of ‘burglar’ and master’, showcases the changing ideas in society, eg the crumbling class structure, yet this relatively serious comment is only juxtaposed further by the flippant tone, portraying Favell as perhaps more complex than he initially appeared.

HE KNEW I WAS HER LOVER; HE WAS JEALOUS, MADLY JEALOUS

  • Repetition of ‘jealous’ highlights the mental struggle of Favell, his collapsing mental state is thus mirrored within his language, which is built up further by the fractured sentences (eg use of the semi colon). Moreover, the tone of pride here reinforces this (eg with the personal pronoun used).

YOU THINK I’M THE BIG BAD WOLF, DON’T YOU? HE SAID. BUT I’M NOT, YOU KNOW. I’M PERFECTLY ORDINARY

  • The reference to the ‘big bad wolf’ is interesting as it feels reminiscent of the ‘bluebeard’ myth that Rebecca appears to draw strong illusions to. Moreover, the fairytales are often aimed at children are babies, so it only serves to infantalise the narrator further, with the rhetorical question also adding to the gothic imagery that the quote uses.

THAT’S THE SORT OF DEATH REBECCA WOULD CHOOSE, SHE’D GO OUT LIKE SHE LIVED, FIGHTING

  • Appears to recognise the power of women and the agency of women, with verbs like that of ‘choose’ even when this is in relation to stereotypically masculine ideas such as 'fighting’.

ALL MARRIED MEN WITH LOVELY WIVES ARE JEALOUS AREN’T THEY AND SOME OF EM JUST CAN’T HELP PLAYING OTHELLO

  • Direct link to otherness with the metaphor of ‘Othello’, we often consider the narrator as the one who is other yet here the blame is shifted to Maxim as the walls come crashing down around him.

A LOVELY WOMEN ISN’T LIKE A MOTOR TYRE, SHE DOESN’T WEAR OUT. THE MORE YOU USE HER THE BETTER SHE GOES

  • Atypical description as it s pretty overtly sexual which is quite unusual, especially in the 1930s which still relied on quite strong norms and values. The simile is also unusual as it focuses on what a woman is ‘not’ yet the comparison to a ‘motor tyre’ feels far more typical as the comparison is to something overtly masculine, thus highlight the remaining strict gender roles in society.

BEN

SHE GAVE YOU THE FEELING OF A SNAKE

  • Again, one of the very few clear descriptions of Rebecca, without any nuance or alternative ideas. The snake is very clearly an evil omen, a biblical one at that, thus higlighting the apaprent inherent evil of Rebecca.

REBECCA

THIS NEW ONES NOT LIKE OUR MRS DE WINTER, SHE’S DIFFERENT ALTOGETHER.

  • Again a focus on the use of names, here the narrator is just ‘this new one’ which fits with the highly reductionist tone used, which contrasts the full name of ‘Mrs De Winter’. Again her importance is highlighted through the use of the peronal pronoun of ‘our’ which juxtaposes the tone of ‘she’s different altogether’ very strongly.

REBECCA STOOD OUT BLACK AND STRONG, THE TALL SLOPING R DWARFING THE OTHER LETTERS

  • This is one of our earliest introductions to Rebecca (interesting structurally), at this point we only know positive things about her, but this introduction is quite negative with adjectives such as ‘black’ and ‘strong’ (unfeminine) and the verb of ‘dwarfing’

THE SAME AS THE CRUSHED WHITE PETALS OF THE AZALEAS IN THE HAPPY VALLEY

  • the adjectives of ‘crushed’ and ‘white’ juxtapose each other with the ideas of purity and virginity being ‘crushed’, which further contrasts the idea of the ‘happy valley’ and the positive emotions that the narrator had assosciated here. Furthermore the azealas have connotations of femininity, fragility, passion, and elegance, which are often used in combination with Rebecca, and not the narrator

REBECCA, WHOM THEY DESCRIBED AS BEAUTIFUL, TALENTED, LOVED BY ALL

  • List of three, truly highlights the power and beauty that Rebecca wields, the epitome of everything positive a woman can be, also frames Rebecca as the centre, by decribing her personally, as ‘Rebecca’ in comparison to everyone else who becomes simply ‘they’.

SHE’S STILL MISTRESS HERE, EVEN IF SHE’S DEAD

  • Another example of Rebecca transcending traditional power, before it was nature with ‘the sea’ and now it is death. Also interesting that she is refererred to with the personal pronoun of ‘she’ which really reinforces Rebecca’s gothic powerful trope as ‘the double’ as the reader knows who is referenced implicitly.

SHE OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN BORN A BOY, I OFTEN TOLD HER THAT.

  • REBECCA TRANSCENDS ALL GENDER STEREOTYPES

I WAS SITTING IN REBECCA’S CHAIR, I WAS LEANING AGAINST REBECCA’S CUSHIONS

  • again the repitition of Rebecca’s name in comparison to simply ‘I’ when surrounded by all of Rebecca’s personal items (eg the chair or the cushion) in familiar situations that mean the idea of her ‘sitting’ or ‘leaning’ juxtaposes her overall tone and deamenor

HE STILL THOUGHT ABOUT REBECCA. HE WOULD NEVER LOVE ME BECAUSE OF REBECCA.

  • Interesting here, that the strong emotion and repetition is saved for ‘Rebecca’ and Maxim is only referred to as ‘he’, perhaps as the emotion is too strong towards him or perhaps as most of her emotion is saved for Rebecca who creates such strong emotion as seen through the adverb of ‘never’

REBECCA, ALWAYS REBECCA. I SHOULD NEVER BE RID OF REBECCA.

  • Repitition of the name, highlights her importance and prevelance in the narrators mind. The fact that her name is repeated is interesting as it is the very item that the narrator does not have, in this quote she is simply just ‘I’ instead. Moreover the certainty of this answer is reinforced with adverbs such as ‘always’ and ‘never’

BUT IT WASN’T A MAN, IT WASN’T A WOMAN. THE SEA GOT HER.

  • Use of the triad and the short sentences highlights its importance which alongside the simple language highlights the straightforward and powerful nature of Rebecca and her death. The use of the pronoun of ‘her’ over Rebecca’s name perhaps highlights the strength of emotion that Danvers feels for Rebecca. Moreover, the idea that ‘the sea’ got her highlights her power and importance that only a force of nature would take her down.

MRS DANVERS

DID NOT YOU KNOW? SHE HAD SAID. SHE SIMPLY ADORED REBECCA

  • A very clear rhetorical question, designed to highlight Rebecca’s immovable place within society. Especially as the language is simple and clear, within short sentences highlighting that it must be truthful and accurate. This is further highlighted by the adverb ‘simply’ and the verb of ‘adverb’. Also through the somewhat infantalising tone, pushes the idea that the narrator is useless due to her class and age.

THE ANGRY COLOUR FLOODED HER DEAD WHITE FACE

  • huge juxtaposition between ‘angry colour’ and ‘dead white’, highlights her status as a gothic trope, and appear somewhat otherwordly and powerful. Moreover, the shoprt sentence used highlights this as a certain, immovable event.

SHE WAS NOT IN LOVE WITH ANYONE. SHE DESPISED ALL MEN. SHE WAS ABOVE ALL THAT.

  • Very decisive language used, such as the verb of ‘despised’ or the adverb of ‘all’, which is compounded by the sureness of the short sentence used. Moreover, Rebecca gains a somewhat otherwordly presence by rising to the rank of ‘she’, existing without a name but an identity (unlike the narrator), highlights her innate feminine power.

SHE HAD A RIGHT TO AMUSE HERSELF, HADN’T SHE? LOVE-MAKING WAS A GAME WITH HER, ONLY A GAME

  • Repetition of game, creates the fractured sentence structure, highlighting its emotional importance to Danvers, which is only reinforced further by the rhetorical question, which serves to solidify this as an idea. Moreover the noun choice of ‘right’ solidifies the power of the woman whom holds complete dominance when only serving to ‘amuse’

HERS WAS LIMP AND HEAVY, DEATHLY COLD AND IT LAY IN MINE LIKE A LIFELESS THING

  • One of the few instances where the narrator appears to wield more power, Ms Danvers is presented with the passive verb of ‘lay’ which is reiterated with the alliteration in 'lifeless’ and ‘lay’, she is even dehumanised further with the noun choice of ‘thing’. Yet this amounts to little with the Gothic imagery of Danvers far overshadowing anything that the narrator does or thinks.

WHOSE PROMINENT CHEEK-BONES AND GREAT, HOLLOW EYES GAVE HER A SKULLS FACE, PARCHMENT WHITE SET ON A SKELETONS FRAME

  • Plays into the hugely gothic, otherwordly description through the haunting metaphor of a ‘skulls face’ and ‘parchment white’ and the dual adjective choice of ‘great hollow eyes’. A traditionally unfeminine description, which in turn highlights Rebecca’s femininity in contrast, but still appears to wield more power through this malformed existence than through the narrator does.

MAXIM

THE LAST SUPREME BLUFF. SHE WANTED ME TO KILL HER. SHE FORESAW THE WHOLE THING. THAT’S WHY SHE LAUGHED.

  • Lots of aggressive short sentences, highlights the strength of emotion he evidently feels, for Rebecca, highlighting that even though the issue is dealt with she remains, and still controls the narratative. This is made especially clear through the continual use of the personal pronouns of ‘she’ which dehumanise and distance her but also highlight Rebecca’s implicit control of the situation.

NO I’M ASKING YOU TO MARRY ME YOU LITTLE FOOL

  • Very contrasting tone present here between the traditional image of ‘marriage’ and the adjective and noun choice of ‘little fool’ indeed even the statement itself takes on an accusatory tone with the harsh choice of ‘you’.

MY DARLING/MY LITTLE LOVE

  • two seperate endearments from Maxim to the narrator, both highlight his possessive naure through the possessive pronoun of ‘my’ and also serve to belittle her by highlighting her youth such as ‘little’ (adjective)

IT’S GONE FOREVER, THAT FUNNY, YOUNG LOST LOOK THAT I LOVED…. ITS GONE, IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. YOU ARE SO MUCH OLDER…

  • Lots of long sentences and fragmented language, highlights the power of Maxim in comparison to the narrator. This is effectively highlighted through the adjective choices of ‘funny, young lost’

I NEVER DRESS UP SAID MAXIM

  • Ironic, could be seen as wider metaphor of the class system, a short sharp clear statement. If this is the case regarding the class sytem metaphor, it highlights that Maxim appears to have little regard for this class facade, which is ironic as he kills his wife for not fitting in.

YOU LOOK LIKE A LITTLE CRIMINAL

  • short sentences highlights Maxim’s surety as well as his power over the narrator, which is only reinforced with the adjective choice of ‘little’ and the rather accusatory pronoun choice of ‘you’

MEN ARE SIMPLER THAN YOU IMAGINE, MY SWEET CHILD. BUT WHAT GOES ON IN THE TWISTED TORTOUS MINDS OF WOMEN WOULD BAFFLE ANYONE

  • Alliteration of twisted and torurous reinforces the idea that women are difficult to understand and highlights the large gender division that has occured. Further reinforced by the infantalisation through the personal pronoun and adjective of ‘my’ and ‘sweet’

A HUSBAND IS NOT SO VERY DIFFERENT TO A FATHER AFTER ALL

  • See above quote

HE STARED AT ME AT FIRST LIKE A PUZZLED CHILD AND THEN HE HELD OUT HIS ARMS

  • The simile ‘like a child’ highlights the new power dynamic between the narrator and Maxim, even with the childlike motion of holding out his arms, as if desperate for guidance from the woman she had consistently infantalised for the novel prior to this.

I HELD HIM AND COMFORTED HIM AS THOUGH HE WERE JASPER

  • Flips the imagery we have seen previously of the narrator being compared to Jasper. Now, by the end of the novel it has changed, now the narrator holds the action with the quote opening with ‘I’, now the narrator also appears to be fulfilling the maternal and female role, as seen through the verbs of ‘held’ and ‘comforted’

THE NARRATOR

RHODEDENDRENS, BLOOD RED AND LUSCIOUS

  • rhodedenrens are often associated with Rebecca and showcase a duality between intense beauty and hidden danger or toxicity, and since the publication of Rebecca have become irrefutably assosciated with Rebecca. This is only reinforced further by the very harsh adjectives of ‘blood red’ and ‘luscious’

MY CURLS WERE HER CURLS, THEY STOOD OUT FROM MY FACE AS HERS DID IN THE PICTURE

  • desperation of the narrator to fit in trhough class and age and as the ‘ideal woman’

HE NEVER SPOKE TO ME. HE NEVER TOUCHED ME. WE STOOD BESIDE ONE ANOTHER, THE HOST AND THE HOSTESS AND WE WERE NOT TOGETHER

  • idea of acting, use of the personal pronoun of ‘he’ not Maxim, lots of punctuation so fragmented languages

DRESSED AS A LITTLE DRESDEN SHEPHERDESS

  • Simile, which depicts the narrator in a very common outfit for the upper class at costume balls. Would hit incredibly close to home for the narrator, as it is an incredibley lower class profession, perhaps it was a slight on purpose or perhaps simply as it was a common costume

PUT A RIBBON IN YOUR HAIR AND BE ALICE IN WONDERLAND

  • Chosen by Maxim, a good example of intertextuality, but also of Maxim showcasing the narrator as simply a child once again, something that he can control and manipulate as he wishes to.

WOULD WE NEVER BE TOGETHER, HE A MAN AND I A WOMAN, STANDING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER, HAND IN HAND WITH NO GULF BETWEEN US? I DID NOT WANT TO BE A CHILD. I WANTED TO BE HIS WIFE, HIS MOTHER. I WANTED TO BE OLD

  • rhetorical question, highlights the uncertainty that the narrator feels which is further reinforced through the dislocated language and listing.

I KNEW THEN I WAS NO LONGER AFRAID OF REBECCA. I DID NOT HATE HER ANYMORE. NOW THAT I KNEW HER TO HAVE BEEN EVIL AND VICIOUS AND ROTTEN.

  • Ironic considering that the narrator is attempting to take control, yet uses a polysyndetic list that is undoubtedly quite childish in language by using the adjectives of ‘evil’, ‘viscious’ and ‘rotten’

HE RAN HIS FINGERS THROUGH MY HAIR… IT WAS NOT LIKE STROKING JASPER ANYMORE

  • Maxim still wields the power in this situation as he is the one with the active verbs (ran) and the personal pronouns. Yet the narrator really appears to be profiting off of this interaction, despite being mostly passive, perhaps as she has adapted successfully and is no longer seen to be a child.

I WANTED TO BE A TRAVELLER ON THE ROAD, A BRIDE IN LOVE WITH HER HUSBAND

  • The modal verb of ‘want’ highlights the desperation that the narrator now feels, how she is desperate to be something that she in many ways already is. Thus highlighting the confusion and ambiguity that plagues the novel as well as the relationship between Maxim and the narrator.

THERE WAS NOTHING QUITE SO SHAMING, SO DEGRADING AS A MARRIAGE THAT HAD FAILED

  • highlights the deeply ingrained nature of the class system and gender norms, dspite the changes in the 1930s society, which is highlighted by the adverbs of ‘so’ which are repeated in order to highlight the depth of emotion felt;

THE FACT THAT I LOVED HIM IN A SICK, HURT, DESPERATE WAY LIKE A CHILD OR A DOG, DID NOT MATTER.

  • The use of three here highlights the depth of emotion felt, yet this is innately reinforced by the simile used of ‘child’ and ‘dog’ both seen to be under the whim of adults and unable to fend for themselves. Furthermore this is presented as ‘fact’ highlighting the percieved immovability of the position the narrator feels she is in.

SHE IS COMPARING ME TO REBECCA; AND AS SHARP AS A SWORD THE SHADOW CAME BETWEEN US…

  • some conitinual gothic imagery here, with the idea of ‘shadows’ but the similie present here is an inherently masculine, immovable one, perhaps highlighting the defiite nature of Rebecca’s legacy and how she so successfully transcended everything that Maxim stood for.

THE FACE IN THE GLASS STARED BACK AT ME AND LAUGHED

  • A final mention to the double, highlighting the importance of the gothic trope to the very end, appears that the double wields more power as she is able to laugh whilst the narrator is simply described as passive, yet the face remains nameless but it is simple to assume that it is Rebecca, highlighting her sheer power.