Rebecca

© Daphne du Maurier

Chapter Three


This chapter sees a more detailed exploration into Mrs Van Hopper’s character, and we start to see how her vacuous remarks impinge greatly upon the timidity of the narrator, who seems to be a rather gauche and naive young woman, constantly at the mercy of Mrs Van Hopper’s temper.

Mrs Van Hopper is rather like a black widow spider, enticing into her web all those people she feels are “visitors of distinction”, and so it is with Mr de Winter, with whom Mrs Van Hopper has a vague connection to, thanks to the wedding of her nephew Billy, to Dora. On the pretext of sharing photographs with Mr de Winter, the narrator is sent scurrying away Mrs Hopper’s behest to find the required evidence of friendship.


In this chapter there are many observations of the minutiae of proper social behaviour, and there is even an element of distaste in the way Mrs Van Hopper monopolises Mr de Winter, so much so that the narrator is embarrassed to be part of her deviousness, but lacks the experience to be able to demonstrate her feelings “I was too young, that was the trouble”.

Throughout the conversation, Mr de Winter tries his best to draw the young woman into the conversation, but it is obvious that Mrs Van Hopper does not care for this, and steers the conversation back towards people she can name drop about, and eventually back towards the subject of de Winter’s home – Manderley, which he explains has been in his family since the conquest.

Eventually, de Winter is able to make good his escape from the demanding Mrs Van Hopper, but undaunted Mrs Van Hopper berates her companion for pushing “herself forward” into the conversation. The narrator is uncomfortable around Mrs Van Hopper’s friends, and she passes away the afternoon drawing an imagined portrait of a man in medieval dress, someone who is not dissimilar to Mr de Winter and who is typical of a Gothic hero, “I sketched in fancy with an absent mind a profile, pale and aquiline. A sombre eye, a high bridge nose, a scornful upper lip. And I added a pointed beard and lace at the throat, as the painter had done, long ago in a different age.”

When the lift-boy brings a message to their room, the narrator assumes it is for Mrs van Hopper, and so is surprised to discover that the message is for her, from Mr de Winter, it says simply - “Forgive me. I was very rude this afternoon”...
The narrator reads the message and then returns to her sketching.


• The narrator is easily dismissed by Mrs Van Hopper (she) “waved a vague hand in my direction and mumbled my name” –
• Do you think that Mrs Van Hopper is socially above her companion – how does this come across in the writing?
• What do you see in de Winter’s character – can you see the resemblance to the Gothic hero of the narrator's imagination?


Share your thoughts

Mrs. Van Hopper is certainly wealthier than the narrator and the narrator is in her employ (right?) so her social position is higher. But, clearly, she is rude and people who are impressed by a person's behavior and not her position would not be impressed by her. I think her dismissiveness of the narrator made Mr. de Winter more inclined to pay attention to the narrator and to send the note apologizing to her and not to Mrs. VH. I wished she had "mumbled her name" to us so we could call her something other than "the narrator".

I had forgotten the sketch and don't recall enough detail to talk about de Winter as Gothic hero, but I look forward to other people's comments.

Thank you, Sassenach, for the chapter summary. I enjoyed this chapter. I appreciated the character of
Mrs. Van Hopper--mind I didn't say like. Her appeal is her self importance and her total lack of how everyone else views her. (I often think that these type characters, as well as the "bad" ones would be the most fun to perform in a play or movie).

In response, I think Mrs. Van Hopper is clearly our narrator's "superior," in terms of employment, money, and probably social strata. However, she certainly is not superior in her manners, or her ability to perceive the attitudes or feelings of others.

Mr. DeWinter's demeanor does play into the "gothic hero" mold. He was unusually forbearing with Mrs. Van Hopper, who I imagine to be his senior. He puts up with her nattering on and on about Manderley, and his comments that are wont to put her in her place are gentle, I think. In addition, his treatment of our narrator is quite gentle and kind. It is clearly different from the behavior she describes from other gentlemen "friends" of Mrs. Van Hopper. He remains standing at her introduction, insists she have coffee with them and gallantly tries to include her in the conversation. On top of all that, he sends a handwritten apology. Quite an unusual approach it seems for the landed gentry toward the paid help.
Raelin

Oh, and, much as I have forgotten, I do remember Mrs. Van Hopper's comment about the narrator inappropriately putting herself forward in the conversation with Mr. de Winter. And, I remember how preposterous it was since it was the gentleman who tried to include her and Mrs. VH herself who was monopolizing the conversation.

And, I agree Raelin, that characters like Mrs. VH are likely more fun to portray than some others.

And yet, the Narrator wonders at the opening of the chapter of what her life would have been like if Mrs. VH was not a snob. She was really more than a snob but a social climbing, name-dropping bore. If anything, I think that despite their positions to one another, it was the narrator who outclassed her boss. I think that Mrs. VH realized this on some level because the narrator explains that she makes it clear to everyone that she is an employee after being mistaken for her daughter previously. It seems that Mrs. VH not only needs to impress Mr. deWinter and her other social companions but also her need to diminish the narrator.

Excellent summary sassenach. Such a good analogy of Mrs. VH as the spider throwing out her web of possible connections to catch her prey. Loved it.

I am glad that the book finally feels like it is picking up and we are learning more about the characters.

I think that Mrs VH is socally above the narrartor only because she places herself there, she is vocal when she see someone or is in social situations. The narrartor barely speaks even when spoken to. I do however like that she is honest (maybe because she is young). Specifically when speaking with Mr. de Winter and Mrs. VH, she describes Monte Carlo as "being artificial." However i do not think Mrs. VH is socially accepted. As it was described how others would attempt to avoid Mrs. VH.

How dull and vapid Mrs. VH must be to sit round all day on the hopes that she may encounter someone interesting or at the least someone who has had their name in print. A sad attempt to make one feel important, which continues when she tries to dismiss "the girl" when she "waved a vague hand in my direction and mumbled my name" - this ultimately rejects the act of even recognizing the girl. Poor manners and planily rude.

As the girl continues the description of the three of them having coffee - even i began to feel uncomfortable as Mrs. VH continues to prattle on about so and so and then on to Manderley.
I wondered if she was really oblivious to the akwardness of the situation or just chose to ignore it and then later blame the girl?

I think i seemed have missed the similarity between the gothic hero she sketched and Mr de Winter.

My interpretation of the Gothic hero comes from this part of the chapter - which reminded me of Austen, Bronte et al..

" He belonged to a walled city of the fifteenth century,a city of narrow cobbled sreets, and thin spires, where the inhabitants wore pointed shoes and worsted hose. His face was arresting, sensitive,medieval in some strange inexplicable way, and I was reminded of a portrait I had seen in a gallery, I had forgotten where, of a certain gentleman unknown............."

Also at the end of the chapter when the narrator is alone and sketches from memory..

"..I sketched in fancy with an absent mind a profile,pale and aquiline. A sombre eye. a high bridged nose, a scornful upper lip.And I added a pointed beard and lace at the throat, as the painter had done,long ago in a different time."

I found the passages - but i think i just misunderstood the question a bit.

For some reason i kept looking to phyisical description for similartites, but as i re read the chapter

However when i read the personality description of of Mr. de Winter and the way he interacts with Mrs. VH, i do see the gothic hero. While he endure Mrs. VHs prattling the reader gets hints of coldness and indifferences by his replys. The reader also notes that at times a shadow would cross Mr. de Winters face adding elements of mysteriousness and creates symapthy from the girl.
It is plain the Mr. de Winter is trouble at times during the conversation.

So to answer you original question - yes I do see the resembalance

I think we have the establishment of a romantic. The narrator is relaying to us what she felt. Who knows what the reality will be. She seems to be a very subservient personality. She must have been impressed that Mr.de Winter would notice her since she was clearly not "of class'
Mrs. VH seems like a complete bore in the very worst of the words meaning.

Great summary and comments. I thought it telling that Mr. DeW felt it was necessary to apologize to the narrator and that he spelled her name correctly on the note. Such a small detail, but he obviously went to the trouble to get her name right.