Rebecca

That evening Frith brings the local newspaper, with headlines about the discovery of Rebecca’s body, to the table. Frith talks to the narrator about the distressing news. He offers to do anything to help the family at the inquest, but the narrator does not think the servants will be required to testify. Frith tells her that Mrs. Danvers is ill with shock about the news. The narrator hates the sensational news coverage that portrays Rebecca as loved by all who knew her and makes Maxim sound like a satyr bringing a young bride home months after the death. The narrator imagines the coverage if the reporters knew about the murder. The papers state that it is ironic Rebecca’s body was found the day after the fancy dress ball. Maxim is horrified by the publicity. Frank arranges to have all phone calls for Manderley directed to his office. He also prevents Maxim’s well-meaning, but blundering, sister from visiting. Frank cautions Maxim to not let the coroner rattle him at the inquest with irrelevant details.

On the day of the inquest, the narrator is nervous, but Maxim is calm, like someone about to have surgery. Near the court building, the narrator decides to wait in the car. Maxim wanted her to remain at Manderley. Maxim and Frank go into the inquest. After some time, the narrator decides to enter the building, where a policeman lets her wait in a little room. When the policeman tells her that only the boatbuilder, Mr. Tabb, has yet to speak, she decides to sit at the back of the courtroom. She was too nervous to listen to Maxim. She is surprised by the heat and stuffiness of the room. She suddenly notices that Mrs. Danvers and Jack Favell are watching the proceedings. Mr. Tabb asserts that the boat was so seaworthy that it would not have capsized if Rebecca had gone to the cabin for something. The witness further states that three holes in the boat were not made by rocks. He believes that Rebecca’s boat was deliberately scuttled. Everyone talks at once in the courtroom. The coroner asks Maxim to testify again. Maxim denies knowing anything about the holes. The narrator worries that Maxim will lose his temper. The coroner asks if Maxim’s relationship with Rebecca was perfectly happy. Black dots dance in front of the narrator’s eyes. She hears Maxim’s clear, strong voice ask someone to take his wife outside because she is going to faint.

In the waiting room, the policeman gives the narrator water while Frank asks if she is feeling better. She apologizes for stupidly fainting in the hot courtroom. Maxim asked Frank to drive her back to Manderley because it may be a long time before the inquest is over. Frank explains that Tabb’s testimony made it appear that the boat sinking was not accidental so the coroner will now have to approach the case from a different angle. The narrator tells Frank that the coroner will make Maxim lose his temper and say things he does not mean. She knows that Frank is worried because he is driving unusually fast. She tells Frank that she is afraid Mrs. Danvers and Favell will make mischief by listening to the court evidence. Even though she and Frank are allies, both loyal to Maxim, they do not dare speak truthfully to each other about the case because neither one knows how much the other one knows. After they reach Manderley, Frank says he must return to the courtroom in case Maxim needs him. She wonders if Frank will be questioned about the exact time Maxim left his dinner on that fateful evening.

She worries that Maxim may be taken away and hanged for murder. She falls asleep, awakening to the sound of thunder, but no rain yet. Maxim arrives home in his car, looking exhausted. He tells her that the inquest is over. The jury decided that it was suicide without sufficient evidence to indicate Rebecca’s state of mind. The coroner repeatedly reviewed details about the boat that no one cared about. Maxim was about to lose his temper when the narrator fainted; her collapse reminded him of what he had to say. Maxim knew that she was waiting for news, so he came back to Manderley to tell her. He must go to the church tonight with the vicar, Frank, and Colonel Julyan to bury Rebecca in the crypt. He tells the narrator that the past cannot hurt them if they are together; they need to start all over again and they will have children. The narrator feels that Rebecca has no reality now: “She had crumbled away when they had found her on the cabin floor. It was not Rebecca who was lying in that coffin in the crypt, it was dust” (320).

The rain begins to fall. Maxim has not returned yet from the church. Favell arrives at Manderley demanding to see Maxim. The narrator hopes that she can get rid of Favell before Maxim sees him. Insisting on waiting, the rude Favell drinks a whiskey and soda. He says that he was fonder of his cousin Rebecca than anyone else in the world. He announces that he is going to see that justice is done for Rebecca. When Maxim and Frank return to the house, Maxim wants to throw Favell out. Favell believed Rebecca’s death was accidental until he heard Tabb’s testimony. Favell insists that Rebecca would never have died by suicide. Favell produces a note that Rebecca wrote to him on the day she died. Rebecca asked Favell to spend the night at the cottage because she had something to tell him. Favell was at a late-night party and did not see the note until after Rebecca’s death.

Maxim asks Favell why he did not give the note to the coroner. Favell demands an annual payment for life in exchange for not troubling Maxim again. Maxim states that he is not frightened of anything Favell can do and he will telephone Colonel Julyan, the magistrate, to come over and hear Favell’s story. The narrator and Frank want to prevent Maxim from doing this, but he wants to manage alone.

When the colonel arrives, Favell asks him to read Rebecca’s note and decide if she sounded like someone planning suicide. Colonel Julyan agrees that she did not sound that way, but he does not know to what she was referring. The colonel inquires what Favell believes really happened. Favell accuses Maxim of murder.

The narrator is relieved that Favell’s obvious drunkenness makes Colonel Julyan disbelieve him. Favell announces that he will prove Maxim murdered Rebecca. Colonel Julyan asks why Favell did not produce Rebecca’s note in court. Maxim explains that he asked Favell the same question. Maxim says he phoned Colonel Julyan because Favell asked for money in exchange for not bothering him again. Frank affirms that Favell was trying to blackmail Maxim. Favell accuses the magistrate of protecting Maxim because he owns Manderley. Favell claims that Maxim killed Rebecca because he was jealous, knowing Favell was her lover. The colonel states that Favell would need to produce a witness to this supposed murder. Favell says there might have been a witness. The narrator realizes that Favell means Ben. She recalls the words Ben muttered that she had not understood; she believes he had been a witness.

Although Ben presents as having an intellectual disability, Favell says that he can answer yes or no about what he saw. Colonel Julyan asks if Ben can be questioned, and Maxim sends for him. Favell eggs Maxim on by making an insinuation about the narrator seeking the comfort of Frank when Maxim is sentenced to death. Maxim loses his temper and hits Favell. The action makes Colonel Julyan watch Maxim more suspiciously. Ben shows no sign of recognizing Favell and denies that he saw anyone. Ben begins to cry like a child. Ben is allowed to leave. Colonel Julyan states that Ben did not prove Favell’s story.

Favell asks for Mrs. Danvers to be summoned. The housekeeper seems to have shrunken in size now. Colonel Julyan asks Mrs. Danvers if she was aware of a relationship between Favell and Rebecca. Favell interjects that he has already told the colonel that he and Rebecca were lovers. Favell asks Mrs. Danvers to confirm that Rebecca was in love with him. Mrs. Danvers answers that Rebecca had not been in love with Favell, Mr. de Winter, or any man. Lovemaking was a game to Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers cries. Mrs. Danvers can think of no reason that Rebecca would die by suicide. Colonel Julyan asks her to read Rebecca’s note to Favell. Mrs. Danvers does not know what the note means. When the colonel inquires if Mrs. Danvers knows how Rebecca spent her final day in London, the housekeeper brings Rebecca’s engagement diary. The narrator feels very frightened as Colonel Julyan finds that Rebecca kept an appointment with someone named Baker that day. Mrs. Danvers has never heard the name. Mrs. Danvers asserts that Rebecca was not afraid of anything except illness and getting old. Mrs. Danvers finds Baker’s telephone number in the back of the diary. Frank calls the number and discovers that the place was used as a doctor’s consulting rooms, but the doctor retired six months ago. Frank gets the doctor’s new address.

For the first time that evening, Maxim looks at the narrator with a message of farewell in his eyes, as if he is sailing away on a ship and she stands below on the quay. Although Mrs. Danvers asserts that Rebecca never needed a doctor, Frank learns that Dr. Baker is a well-known woman’s specialist. Mrs. Danvers cannot understand why Rebecca never mentioned him to her. Colonel Julyan assumes that Rebecca’s note referred to what she learned in the appointment with Dr. Baker. The colonel declares that the only way to get the doctor to divulge confidential information is for Maxim to see him privately and explain the circumstances. Favell insists that Maxim not be allowed to go alone to the doctor the next day. Colonel Julyan will accompany Maxim and Favell is allowed to follow them if he is sober. Mrs. Danvers starts to understand that Favell is accusing Maxim of murder and the narrator observes the housekeeper’s hatred of Maxim. When Favell states that Maxim might escape during the night, Maxim asks Mrs. Danvers to lock their bedroom after they retire to bed and then unlock it in the morning.

Colonel Julyan is sympathetic to the narrator, but now avoids looking in her eyes. After everyone leaves, she tells Maxim that she is coming with them to London. She holds out her arms to him and he comes to her “like a child” (352). She holds and comforts him “as though he were Jasper” (352) who has hurt himself and come to her to take his pain away. Maxim tells her they will have tomorrow night together too, because the authorities will not do anything at once. He will try to get hold of the best lawyer and he will have to tell him the truth.

After dinner, Maxim’s sister telephones and says the verdict is preposterous—Rebecca would never have killed herself and the publicity is bad for the family. Beatrice thinks a tramp, or a Communist made the holes in Rebecca’s boat and that Maxim ought to get the verdict squashed. The narrator persuades Beatrice not to make things worse. Exhausted, Maxim and the narrator desperately kiss each other, “like guilty lovers who have not kissed before” (355).

When the narrator awakens in the morning, she reflects on the peace and grace of Manderley: “Whoever lived within its walls, whatever trouble there was and strife, however much uneasiness and pain, no matter what tears were shed, what sorrows born, the peace of Manderley could not be broken or the loveliness destroyed” (357). Manderley would always remain in its hollow, safe, secure, and enchanted, guarded by the woods, while the sea ebbed and flowed below. The narrator feels that Dr. Baker holds their future in his hands. When she wakes Maxim, he stares at her “like a puzzled child” (358) and then holds out his arms. She packs her suitcase in case they must stay in London. She is halfway down the corridor, when she feels that she must look in her room again, impressing the furniture forever on her mind, saddening her “as though they were children that did not want me to go away” (359). Every moment seems precious and final. Her eyes fill with tears for no reason when she looks back at the servants standing at the house.

Maxim drives the narrator and Colonel Julyan in his car, with the grinning Favell following in his sports car, to London. They drive to the home of the retired Dr. Baker. Maxim asks if the doctor recalls the appointment with the deceased Mrs. De Winter. Dr. Baker states that he never had a patient by that name. When Colonel Julyan explains that any record of Dr. Baker’s appointment on that date may have a bearing on Rebecca’s suicide, Favell asserts that it was murder. Dr. Baker agrees to do whatever he can to help and brings out his files. Dr. Baker locates the appointment under the name, Mrs. Danvers. The narrator is tense, assuming that he will reveal that Rebecca had been pregnant. Colonel Julyan describes Rebecca, and the doctor recalls her, agreeing that she must have given a false name. Dr. Baker believes he can suggest a motive for her suicide. He announces that Rebecca had been terminally ill. Rebecca suspected and wanted to know the truth. Dr. Baker states that Rebecca had a deep-rooted growth, unable to be removed by surgery. She would need morphia for the pain in a few months. The X-rays had also shown a malformation of the uterus, which meant that Rebecca could never have a child. Colonel Julyan asks for a copy of his file. They all shake the doctor’s hand, and he says that he was glad to be of use.

After they leave Doctor Baker’s home, Favell is very upset about the revelation that Rebecca had cancer. Favell threatens Maxim, telling him that the doctor’s diagnosis was a stroke of luck for him, but the law can still get him, and Favell can punish Maxim in a different way. Colonel Julyan warns Favell not to return to their district and that blackmail is illegal. As they drive away, Colonel Julyan tells Maxim that Favell is bluffing. Favell cannot do anything because Dr. Baker’s evidence would squash any accusation. Colonel Julyan concludes that Rebecca had courage for everything else, but not for facing pain. The colonel plans to quietly spread the news that the London doctor supplied Rebecca’s suicide motive. He tells Maxim to put the unpleasant episode behind him. He suggests that Maxim and his second wife take a holiday in Switzerland, until people forget the gossip. Maxim thanks Colonel Julyan and drops him off.

Maxim and the narrator plan to spend the night at a pub on the way back to Manderley. The narrator feels that they have passed through their crisis, and nothing can harm them anymore. Maxim thinks that Colonel Julyan guessed the truth, but he would never say anything. Maxim believes that Rebecca wanted him to kill her, so she purposely lied about being pregnant. She wanted to incriminate him so that is why she laughed when she died. He wonders if Rebecca has still won. When Maxim telephones Frank, he discovers that Mrs. Danvers received a long-distance phone call, packed up her possessions, and moved out of Manderley, telling no one about her destination. At first, the narrator believes that this is a positive development, saving them trouble. She assumes that Favell phoned Mrs. Danvers to communicate Dr. Baker’s diagnosis. The narrator tries to take care of tired, pale Maxim, using words he previously used to comfort her.

The narrator begins imagining their future at Manderley. She will not be shy and afraid of the servants anymore. With Mrs. Danvers absent, she will control the house and learn more about the estate. She and Maxim will have children and host visitors. Suddenly, Maxim decides they should drive straight to Manderley and asks if she can possibly sleep in the car. He senses that something is wrong. She has a bad dream that her handwriting turns into Rebecca’s penmanship and Rebecca’s face looks back at her from the mirror. Maxim brushes Rebecca’s hair and it twists like a snake. He puts it around his neck. The narrator awakens, screaming that they must go to Switzerland. It is only about 2:30 a.m. in the morning, but she sees light in the sky as if dawn is breaking, but it is to the west. Maxim drives faster and says that it is Manderley. The horizon is not dark in the night, but “shot with crimson, like a splash of blood. And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea” (380).