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ornamental line

A Very Selfish Thing

"like an ugly picture in the mind of a child" (158).
Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca (1938)


Points for Reflection

Rebecca, chps. 10-16

  1. at one point the narrator claims “I did not mind. I did not care. They could say what they liked” (129). Is this claim of nonchalance supported by her actions?
  2. does Mrs. de Winter’s relationship with Clarice differ substantially from her relationship with Mrs. Danvers?
  3. is Mrs. de Winter maturing, or remaining stagnant and child-like?
  4. why does the narrator relax when Maxim leaves for London?
  5. does Mrs. Danver’s hold on the past empower or weaken her?
  6. does Nature merely provide atmosphere for the tale, or does it prove itself an active agent in the storyline?
  7. does Rebecca’s presence linger in any invisible ways?
  8. why does the narrator think often about etiquette and tea?
  9. has Manderlay become a place of rest and refuge to Mrs. de Winter?
  10. does Maxim’s grandmother like the narrator as much as she did Rebecca?
  11. who is more to blame for the narrator’s furtiveness?  Maxim, Mrs. Danvers, or the narrator herself?
  12. does the narrator’s second encounter with Ben reveal anything important about the absent-present Rebecca?


painting of lush garden filled with bushes and various colored rhododendrons
A Watergarden
George Marks


Dr. Paul Marchbanks
pmarchba@calpoly.edu