The Road To Manderley - Chapters 5-7
Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca continues to entice and mystify
Summary: The Narrator finds a new pathway offered to her, yet something uncanny exists beneath the surface of the fairytale.
Chapter Five
I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of the first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, no matter what the poets may say. They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so easily bruised, so swiftly wounded, one falls from the first barbed word.’
This astonishing, powerful opening to Chapter Five sees the Narrator in the throes of introspection, which one could assume is from a vantage point in the future, even for the first paragraph.
The brashness of Mrs. Van Hopper brings us all careening back to reality, and a separation through mistruth begins. Inquiring as to where the Narrator has been spending her days over the past fortnight, a swift white lie (“I’ve been playing tennis with a professional,”) creates an almost instantaneous cascade of potential calamities, should the truth be discovered. For her days have been spent with Maxim, and the intensity of their current friendship is building.
“Do you still serve underhand?” is the innocuous question which accentuates the Narrators’ guilt, as she confides in us that she feels underhand in her actions.
There is a very strong childlike quality which comes through the narration in the following pages. Fantasist and idealist characteristics mark her as stepping into something which may be beyond her depth. In a bid to appear older, more refined and wiser, she confides to Maxim that she wishes she was “A woman of about thirty-six, dressed in black satin with a string of pearls.”, to which Maxim immediately responds that it’s because she is not that type of woman that she is currently by his side.
Whether this is gallantry or predatory can be left up to the individual reader, but what it does put forward is a massive power imbalance in social status, wealth, age and experience which cannot be ignored. The Narrator is role-playing at being something of which she has no clear outline at present, and mis-steps such as the assumption she makes here serve to highlight that disparity.
Maxim is not a warm character. He is brusque, clipped and unpredictable. When balanced alongside the soft, dreamy perspective of the narrator, he comes across as being sinister and calculated. Perhaps it’s a ‘man of the era’ element, but knowing the skill of du Maurier as a writer, it could well serve as foreshadowing.
This is abundantly clear when the Narrator mentions Manderley and that she knows of Rebecca’s death, causing a tense, uncomfortable experience which is resolved in a perfunctory, slightly bizarre manner.
The chapter culminates with a definition of the Narrator’s standing within his life. She is to call him ‘Maxim’. Semi-formal. She instantly visualizes the book of poetry which Rebecca had signed for him…‘To Max…’
This is an intense, troubling chapter. One which sets the uncertain steps ahead. There’s something off about the way in which the couple interact, and it could be read in numerous ways, depending on which perspective one takes.
Chapter Six
Take note of the opening of this chapter, in which the Narrator describes packing up and leaving a place. Departure and arrival are recurring themes within the novel, as is the exploration of rooms and other liminal spaces.
The Narrator’s life is upended when Mrs. Van Hopper unexpectedly announces that she is going to New York immediately. Van Hopper is appalled at the Narrator’s lack of enthusiasm for this, and demeaning in the way that she outlines how there will be plenty of boys and potential friends of her own class to mix with in America. Maxim is away in Cannes and the Narrator despairs that she may never see him again.
Seizing an opportunity, she rushes to his room, where she catches him getting ready for the day. Explaining her situation, he thinks for a moment and offers her a very matter-of-fact proposal. She can go to New York, or she can go to Manderley.
Thinking he means that he wishes to employ a secretary or something similar, she expresses her confusion, only to be told that Maxim wishes for her to marry him. He wants her to return to Manderley as his wife.
This is done with the typical detachment which we have come to expect from Maxim. Love and romance are not mentioned. There’s a cold, businesslike feel to the offer, but we are not immune to the excitement and wonder that the Narrator must feel at such a prospect. It’s challenging as a reader not to get swept away, despite our better judgement. He shoots down any of her protests or questions, often with concerning harshness.
"You are almost as ignorant as Mrs. Van Hopper, and just as unintelligent. What do you know of Manderley? I’m the person to judge that, whether you would belong there or not. You think I ask you this on the spur of the moment?”
What a charmer.
Once alone, after accepting, the Narrator looks at the book of poems Rebecca gave to Maxim. She tears out the inscription page and burns it in the waste paper basket. This symbolic action shows us a sharper and less subservient side to the Narrator.
Chapter Seven
The arrival at Manderley.
Following a marriage at a registry office, as Maxim had already had the lavish wedding so there was no talk of any grand, formal affair, the couple honeymoon in Venice, of which we know little.
There is a sumptuous, rich description of Manderley, which counterbalances the opening chapter. There is a prolonged exploration of the driveway, the gardens and general atmosphere, which adds to the anticipation of our own experience of Manderley in all its glory.
The Narrator’s anxiety builds immensely as she approaches and, to her horror, finds the staff lined up outside and ready to greet them.
They treat her with a mix of cordiality and hostility, the latter emanating from Mrs. Danvers, who will soon become a prominent, complex figure within the story.
This is a longer chapter than we’ve been presented with, as the grandiosity of Manderley is explored in full. It’s also where the ghostly nature of Rebecca’s legacy, and its prominence, is delved into.
From the furniture, to the dogs, Rebecca’s touch lingers, and the Narrator feels both lost, incapable and alone.
“Unconsciously, I shivered as though someone had opened the door behind me and had let a draught into the room. I was sitting in Rebecca’s chair, I was leaning against Rebecca’s cushion, and the dog had come to me and laid his head upon my knee because that had been his custom, and he remembered, in the past, she had given sugar to him there.”
This is where the real journey begins. The clipped, economical mastery of du Maurier’s opening chapters has created such a wealth of foundational knowledge, that we feel the same tense, uncertainty as to what lies ahead. We are with the Narrator in every sense, amidst this vast new environment in which everyone seems to know the ways, rituals and expectations far better than we do.
If there is one certainty about Manderley, it’s that it holds many secrets, and it’s an exciting prospect to find out what they are.
Talking Points for Chapters 5, 6 & 7
Marriage Proposal
What does the narrator’s reaction to the proposal reveal about her self-perception and emotional state?
Discuss the lack of overt romance in Maxim’s proposal. What does this tell us about his character or his feelings toward the narrator?
Power Dynamics
How does the narrator’s deference to Maxim shape the dynamic of their relationship in these chapters?
Discuss the subtle ways the narrator seeks Maxim’s approval and how this reflects her insecurities.
Social Commentary
How do these chapters comment on the societal expectations for women in the narrator's position?
What do the narrator’s anxieties about “fitting in” with Maxim’s world say about the class structure of the time?
Tradional Ghost Story Elements
How does the lingering presence of Rebecca act as a ghostly figure in Maxim’s life, even before the narrator arrives at Manderley?
Discuss how du Maurier uses the narrator’s imagination to build suspense and foreshadow the haunted atmosphere of Manderley.
Arrival at Manderley
What is the significance of the narrator’s mixed feelings—both awe and apprehension—about arriving at Manderley?
In what ways does the estate itself serve as a character in the novel, especially upon first arrival?
I'm quite a way ahead (ch 11) and the power dynamics are ever present as is the ghost of rebecca though not in the literal sense just in the nameless main character is always compared to the memory of her its really giving me wuthering hights meats jane eyre