Part One:
Part One: Chapters 1-10
At the beginning of the novel, the unnamed female protagonist dreams that she is at a mysterious, dark place called Manderley. She wakes up and reflects on how different her life now compared to Manderley and her past. At this point in the story, she has a long flashback to her life before she met Maxim de Winter, her husband while she was still working for Mrs. Van Hopper. The main character was once employed as a “companion...for ninety pounds” (du Maurier 24) to Mrs. Van Hopper at Monte Carlo. One day the two women meet Mr. Maxim de Winter and Mr. de Winter and the protagonist quickly become close friends and start having meals and driving around together frequently. After a drive one day, Maxim gives the protagonist a book of poems with a signature “Rebecca” on the front with the letter “R” being emphasized. Rebecca was Maxim’s late wife who drowned in a boating accident near Manderley. Mrs. Van Hopper later decides to leave for New York and upon hearing this, Maxim asks the female heroine if she would like to marry him. After a drive one day, Maxim gives the
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Part Two:
Part Two: Chapters 11-18
The protagonist continues to be shy and avoid house guests as much as possible and she avoids conversation about the ball because she is worried of being worse than Rebecca. The wife also continues to avoid Mrs. Danvers and is paranoid of messing up. Mr. de Winter leaves for London for some time and while he is gone, his wife feels more at ease. During a walk to the beach, she enters the cabin and runs into Ben who is scared of being locked in asylum. She promises not to put him in an asylum and sends him away. On her return, she notices that Mrs. Danvers invited Rebecca’s cousin over and meets him. She is sworn to secrecy because Mr. de Winter does not like him. She decides to look in the west wing and finds it nicely taken care of because Mrs. Danvers has been caring for the room. Mrs. Danvers gives a tour of the room and asks if the new wife still feels Rebecca’s presence everywhere. The day Mr. de Winter is returning, his wife goes with Beatrice to meet the grandmother; the grandmother is fine for a while but starts to frantically ask for Rebecca.
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Mrs. de Winter, Maxim, and Frank were having lunch with Lady Crowan who brings up the costume ball again. Maxim says if Frank organizes it then it is okay, so they make preparations. Mrs. de Winter wants to surprise everyone with her costume so she makes preparations. Mrs. Danvers offers the gallery pictures, and the wife decides and the same picture Rebecca wore the year before. She shocks everyone and angers Maxim. She eventually changes and goes downstairs in a regular dress to maintain a good image. She pretends to be happy, but the night was ruined for her. Maxim was so mad, does not go to bed that night. when Mrs. de Winter wakes up and is taking a walk, she goes back and confronts Mrs. Danvers. She says that she is devoted to Rebecca and persuades the wife to jump out of a window. Just as she is about to jump, they here a rocket being shot off signaling a ship in distress.
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Part Three
Part Three: Chapters 19-27
After being interrupted, the de Winters are bombarded with the news of a ship crashing nearby. Maxim and Frank rush to see as to why and they soon discover that attached to the bottom of the ship is a small sailboat. This sailboat is confirmed to belong to Rebecca. After further investigation, they recover Rebecca's real body and find that the boat had been deliberately sunken. An inquest takes place during which Mrs. de Winter faints while they question Maxim, interrupting the interrogation. Conveniently with no evidence to prove otherwise, they rule the case as a suicide. Relieved, the de Winters return to Manderley when Jack Favell arrives, accusing Maxim of murder. Favell reveals that in his possession was a note that Rebecca had written, asking him to meet her later. Maxim then calls Colonel Julyan to overlook this evidence.
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As Colonel Julyan questions everyone, including Mrs. Danvers, it is disclosed that on the day Rebecca died, she was supposed to meet a Mr. Baker at a certain address. The next morning, they follow to said address and discover that Rebecca was being checked in under the name of "Mrs. Danvers" and had a serious case of cancer. Colonel Julyan confirms this as a reasonable cause behind her suicide and allows the de Winters to return home. Maxim further acknowledges that Rebecca may have wanted him to kill her so that she would not suffer. Throughout their ride home, Maxim grows anxious and fears that something may have happened at Manderley. The couple hasten to Manderley where they find that the house has been set ablaze.
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