Rebecca Chapter 2

Chapter 2 opens with the narrator musing about the past.This chapter continues to be dark and foreboding. She senses that she cannot get away from the past. Past memories are always stirring to the surface with the ability to cause stress and panic. The narrator is with someone, but we do not yet know who that person might be. Her companion appears to be ill or at the very least depressed.
The narrator remembers Manderly. She remembers the woods and fields. She compares the simple life that she has now to her time at Manderly. There is an acute sense of loss and grief. She can remember house and the grounds. There is a sense of haunting. (this is of course, a Gothic Novel).

The narrator says that her main hobby is now reading about the life they left behind in England. She says she knows about everything that happens there. Sometimes she reads to her companion aloud from newspapers and mail. She only reads the parts that will not remind him of the time before. She seems to be protecting him. But, from what? Why is she so interested in the news from England?

The narrator says she has changed much from the shy person that first went to Manderly. She knows her lack of poise made a bad impression on Mrs. Danvers. The narrator begins to tell her story beginning with Mrs.Van Hopper. She speaks of herself as someone who was timid and unassertive. She did not have the courage to send unsatisfactory food back to the kitchen or demand proper treatment from a servant. Mrs. Van Hopper is loud and demanding. What do these descriptions tell us of the narrator ?

The chapter ends as the narrator describes a scene in a restaurant where the table next to them is sat with a new comer. Mrs. Van Hopper tells her that the person is Max de Winter and that he has just lost his wife. Mrs. Van Hopper speaks loudly and can be over heard from the other tables near by. What is the narrator's reaction?


What do you think so far? The author does not tell what has happened or us who the characters are. We do not know who she is with or what happened that they should be exiled from home. What are your impressions from reading this chapter? What do you think about the description the narrator gives herself?

All the references to Manderley are so eerie and haunting and it's all so mysterious. But, I thought the story got easier once we got to her history as companion to Mrs. Van Hopper (the rude loudmouth). I think I started to get more of a feel for our narrator at that point - about her humble position and timidity, which makes sense in her circumstances. I still wasn't sure why she was so closely following the news from England or why she needed to protect her companion, but we've sort of shifted to the beginning of the story, which would presumably explain how they got to where they are now.

Thanks Janet for a great chapter summary

"We can never go back again, that much is certain"

We seem to be caught up in the retrospective world of the narrator - so many memories being challenged, but with a hint of Gothic gloom "The devil does not ride us any more, We have come through our crisis, not unscathed of course" and yet we STILL don't know what has happened, or to whom....

The narrator used to be a timid creature, easily put upon by others and is soon intimidated, but is no longer that person -" I am very different from that self who drove to Manderley for the first time, hopeful and eager,handicapped by a rather desperate gaucherie and filled with an intense desire to please..

As we are introduced to Mrs Van Hopper we start to get a feel for the story and gain a little bit of insight into why the narrator is as timid as she is .........

I thought this chapter was so depressing. What bothered me the most is that this seems to be a chapter that might come at the end of the story, as she is in recall. It seems to be written in the present, so one would assume this is the condition of the narrator and her companion after all the things they have experienced..... and I find their condition very sad!
I feel a real sense of falseness in her words. Not intentional lying, but self deception. She claims they have conquered their "particular devil" but I sense she is always watching her companion and altering her choices as he sees signs that he remembers "more than he would have me know" (interesting, as she states only one paragraph later that they have no secrets now and that "all things are shared.")
They are so far from having conquered their devils, and the narrator seems to know this, but chooses not to acknoweldge that truth. She tries very hard to put a positive face on their life, but telling statements continually leak into the narrative: "our hotel is a little dull....we are sometimes bored" She reads accounts of cricket matches to be "saved from ennui". She reads every bit of information she can find about the English country side in order to face her present location with greater courage, and even so she admits this pastime to be a poor one.
I just felt very, very sorry for these individuals; if this is the quality of their life and it is to be considered better than what went before, then one must feel rather hopeless for them.
Raelin

That the beginning of the book is so depressing - I remember when I first picked up this book - I was probably in my mid teens - and to be honest I gave up on it -the whole thing was just so incredibly sad...I only really read it properly many years later when I was older and wiser - and then it all made sense !!

This chapter is depressing, yet intriguing. We are finally starting to peel the layers, slowly but surely. We are introduced to Mrs. Van Hopper and Mr. De Winter. The pace of the writing also gives the reader an indication of the slow pace of these's characters' lives. They have suffered some tragedy or mishap that has stopped them in their tracks. I am not sure if I would have continued reading Rebecca if I were in HS or if it was not mandatory reading for a class assignment. It takes some getting used to this style of writing.

Hi everyone - can't wait to join you all as I've just picked up my copy of Rebecca and plan to start it this weekend.

Just a question, are you all rereading Rebecca or picking it up for the first time? The reason I ask is that I'm wondering whether I should read it through first and then join the discussion or just read chapter by chapter as the discussions are posted?

Hi ephemeral - thanks for joining our group readalong !!

Some of us are re-reading Rebecca, but I also know that others are reading it for the first time and are taking it chapter by chapter - so, whatever suits you is just fine.

I know that for some readers only reading a chapter a week is harder than reading the whole book through in one sitting....but I know from the experience of reading To Kill A Mocking bird last year - no matter how much you think you know something, there is always something new to be learned

Nice summary and agree that I was getting a little bored myself with the endless discussion of Manderly like it was some Holy Relic, especially since it is described as something destroyed. There's a wistfulness for it but a loathing for it at the same time. I was glad to see it switch to the history of the narrator so that the rest of us could appreciate the significance of the almighty "Manderly". I started reading the print book but it became available on audio and I took advantage of it since I was in the middle of another book, but everytime the narrator says "Manderly", she's almost breathless.

When the story goes into her life as an awkward companion to a loudmouth mistress, I began to understand the awe that she felt about this estate but, frankly, I felt like counting how many times she said "Manderly". At least the story picks up a bit here and we get a better sense of the character as opposed to the place.

I have to agree with Pauline. I was not drawn in at all until the chapter near the end.

I understand the author was trying to convey how the mundane of their current life was a welcome compared to their "tumultuous past" and that at the unexpected moment memories of the past would come flodding in. But i hate to say it for me it just felt like it was going on and on - (wood pigeons??)

I did however become a little curious with the brief introdution of Mrs Danvers. The brief examples of her made her seem so snide - I did want to know more about that. But then the next paragraph goes back on to Manderley then very quickly she is describing Mrs Van Hoper and her relationship with her.

I see that the author is griving a description of the narrartor 's original character - that she is more of a follower, who feels out of place or uncomfortable in most situations. However i felt the progression of the chapter left me a little confused as my mind kept wandering- so that I had to re-read the chapter.

Defintetly glad that the story seems to be moving off the "current time" and is going to tell what had happened

The author seems to write with a lot of generalizations and abstracts, so it was hard to stay focused during this chapter. Slower pace than I am used to reading...

Mary.. really slow! In fact I wish we could pick this re-kilt up a bit! I can not tell if there are many of us still reading?

I'm not too sure. I'm a bit late to the group read, so I'm trying to get caught up now that I have my own copy of the book. I hope everyone is still reading - that is what kept me going through these first two chapters!

I listened to the book last June (or thereabouts), so I'm going on a combination of memory and people's summaries and comments. So, I'm not actually reading along, but I am trying to participate in discussion. I think there are several others participating too. Not sure how many, though.

Mary, feel free to go back and comment on previous chapters and catch up with us. The more the merrier.