Donovan Dicks

English 9 Period 6
10/16/12

Rebecca Dialectic Journal

Journal 1
Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind.
The heroines description of happiness (6)

Very early in the book the reader can tell that the main character and her husband have
experienced a rather traumatic event, which memories still come back to haunt them
occasionally. In this specific passage the main character talks of how she and her husband have
gotten through their crisis, and would like to keep the current peace and security that they have.
She mentions that she and her husband have times of sadness, but spends more time describing
the happy, brighter times. I agree with the way the main character values happiness, it is not
physical or tangible, not an object one can obtain. Happiness is mental, and thats something that
I believe is important to remember. You cant buy or find happiness. I dont like the heroine; she
has little independence and does not have a high opinion of herself or much of a sense of self-
worth. Maxim, however, I find rather interesting. He has a curious personality; his odd social
interactions as well as his hidden past and his reliving of memories create a mysterious character
who I want to know more about.

Journal 2
No, Im asking you to marry me, you little fool. The marriage proposal goes very
awkwardly (pg. 51-52).

Maxim does not have much grace and is a little bit rude in the conversation he has with
the heroine; the proposal isnt one she expected and it puts her into a confused state and she
begins to think about what she wished it wouldve been like. The heroine also never says yes
and rather Maxim infers that she is agreeing to the marriage, which bothers me that he would just
take it for granted and that it would be a good idea to be married with, considering the tragedy
that occurs later (which of course he could have never predicted, but still). This abruptness
surprises me a little bit and his rudeness during the proposal was rather awful, but I dont entirely
understand why the heroine is quick to jump to perfect fantasies of her marriage, or why she
chooses to marry such a stranger and live with him in a strange place away from anywhere or
anyone shes ever known.

Journal 3
Im afraid you have made a mistake, I said. Mrs. De Winter has been dead for over a
year. The heroine answering the house to Mrs. Danvers (84).

The heroine believes herself to be worse than Rebecca, which is very annoying to me.
This idea of her being inferior has appeared many times throughout the book and will most likely
be a recurring theme until she can stand up for herself to Maxim and Mrs. Danvers. The
heroines lack of confidence annoys me, and it defines her and her lifestyle and she grows as a
timid and secluded character.

Journal 4
Of course we all expected a social butterfly [] When you came into the morning-room
before lunch could have knocked me down with a feather. Beatrices surprise about the
difference between the expected and the reality (98).

I like Maxims sister; she is kind and very straightforward. Beatrice seems very open and
honest; she does not have many mysteries other than the secrets of Rebecca, which seemingly
everyone is aware of except the heroine. Maxim seems to be growing ever more secluded, but
with the introduction of the three new characters, I think the heroine will be able to manage
herself a little better and will begin to get used to her new life. I feel like Beatrice is a very
significant character and will be very important to the heroine.

Journal 5
Yes, I suppose she was the most beautiful creature I ever saw in my life. Frank replying
to the question of Rebeccas beauty (134).

The heroines inquiry of Frank interests me and makes me curious about the questions
she asks him. The very last question piques the most interest me, as well the answer. She asks if
Rebecca was beautiful, and Frank replies with the previous quote. The heroine asks the question
in a casual manner, so I cant really understand her motive for the question, and she has a way
with taking advantage of Frank that kind of bothers me, but it could prove to be very helpful to
her.

Jounral 6
I began to lose my first fear of Mrs. Danvers. I began to feel sorry for her. The heroine
(136)

The heroine has lost some fear of Mrs. Danvers; however she has replaced it with
sympathy, which I think is a bad idea. Mrs. Danvers is very suspicious and rather sinister, she
doesnt seem to be someone to trust or have sympathy for; and I believe that shes likely to take
advantage of the heroine because of this. Halfway through the book the heroine still lacks
confidence and cant stand up for herself, and now shes feeling sorry for Mrs. Danvers? What a
mistake she has made, and how disappointing that the heroine is digging herself further into a
ditch.

Journal 7
His face was dark and queer, and his voice was rough, not his voice at all [] Weve
argued in a circle, I said [] You looked so serious, so far away. Bits from the argument that
Maxim and the heroine had over the cupid (144, 147, 148).
 The heroines long argument with Maxim after the incident with the cupid proves she is
quite passive, and will do anything to please her husband. She wants avoid fighting with him,
and ends up contradicting herself. Again, the heroine imagines that Maxim is thinking of
Rebecca, and she has a habit of fantasizing things they had done in the past. Maxim seems as
though he never has a day when he doesnt enter a sort of trance state shown by his dark voice
and facial expression, his seriousness, and his later failure to realize that he had changed
momentarily. I find those moments very curious and they reinforce that he has had a dark past
and there are certainly many things that continue to haunt him.

Journal 8
Youre not like the other one he said [] Shes gone now aint she? he said
anxiously. Rebeccas confrontation with Ben (154).

Bens comments are a little surprising to me as they are very random. He leaves the
heroine very confused, and she just dismisses it and carries on normally. Bens knowledge is
however definitely not something to be dismissed in my opinion, as he holds the secrets to the
past and Rebeccas life, but the heroine does not know this, which is perfectly alright, but what
bothers me is that shes not the least bit inclined to find out who Ben was talking about.

Journal 9
Somebody stood by the window. A man. And then he must have caught sight of me
because he drew back abruptly, and a figure behind him put up an arm and closed the shutters.
The arm belong to Mrs. Danvers. The heroine coming back to house and seeing an unexpected
guest in the house (156).

The heroine considers the man in the window of the room on the west wing the day of
Maxims absence to be a coincidence, however I believe it is planned, and of much importance.
Maxim will probably not like that Mrs. Danvers has let the man in. Mr. Favell is rather rude, and
makes himself at home rather quickly. Its obvious that the confrontation with him and the
heroine was not planned, and absolutely a rather large problem and definitely a concern for Mrs.
Danvers. Mr. Favell is very over confident, and tries to be deceiving and clever, however Mrs. de
Winter notices every little lie, which is a surprising change from her usual obliviousness.

Jounral 10
Why did not Maxim bring Rebecca? Im so fond of Rebecca. Where is dear Rebecca?
[] I want Rebecca, repeated the old lady, what have you done with Rebecca? The
awkward visit with Maxims grandmother (185).

I can relate to the visit with Maxims grandmother, as my own grandmother suffered
from Alzheimers. Its very uncomfortable when someone forgets someone theyve known their
whole life, or that someone has been dead for a year. I understand how very awful it must have
been for Beatrice, and how bad she must have felt for bringing the heroine along. The
grandmother is also the first of very few who the author makes clear adores Rebecca, while most
others seem to have mixed or hidden opinions of her.

Journal 11
 I remember, when we had an invasion of visitors during the afternoon, that the subject
of the fancy dress ball was first brought up The heroine recalling the many visitors (191).

I find it very rude that the many random people show up at Manderley without warning,
and are pushing Maxim and Mrs. de Winter to hold a ball for their amusement, even though it
seems fairly clear that Maxim is trying to avoid it and it is stating that it is rather an event that
has to go through much tedious organization. I feel like their reluctance of putting on the ball is a
hint that there is disaster to come out of it.

Journal 12
You wont know me, I told them, you both get the shock of your lives. The heroines
response to Maxim and Frank when asked about her costume (205).

I think the heroines secrecy over her dress, saying it will give them the shock of their
lives, is not a good idea. I feel like it would be better to confirm that her dress is appropriate
before she wears it, since she is so new to the idea of the dance, and after all she is taking
Rebeccas place in something that Rebecca used to put together and was so loved for.

Journal 13
His eyes blazed in anger. His face was still ashen white. Maxims reaction to the
heroines costume (213).

The confusion with the heroines dress is dreadfully terrible, I could not imagine the
terrible feelings of such a thing happening, nor could I imagine how Maxim had felt. Ive just
noticed that the author is actually kind of poetic and works excellently with literary devices and
does a wonderful job of conveying the mood of an event and the feelings of the characters.
Maxim has had another trance sort of state, this time its much more fearsome and intense
(described very well by the author), and it mustve been something that reminded him of his
dreadful past.

Journal 14
I killed her. I shot Rebecca in the cottage in the cove. Maxim revealing the truth about
the tragic past (266).

I hope that the heroine will be able to cope with her life more now that there have been
some more details revealed. It shocks me how quickly and bluntly Maxim revealed the dreadful
truth of how he killed Rebecca, but I think it is better for him to finally get it out. However, I
definitely dont think this going to go over quickly or easily and that its going to cause quite a lot
of trouble for Maxim.

Journal 15
Thats not the northern lights, he said, thats Manderley Maxim realizing that
Manderley had been set ablaze (380).

Maxim had done so much to keep Manderley, just to lose at all at the end, and I
retrospect it really was a unbelievably stupid move to bring the heroine to Manderley as his wife.
She caused a great deal of issues over Rebecca to resurface and complicate life at Manderley,
and she got sucked into the terrible past and changed the future of Manderley. I suspect that it
was Mrs. Danvers who set the home ablaze without question. The ending is a little bit
unsatisfying however, but everything was wrapped up in the end. Late in the book I began to
take notice of the authors use of literary devices and techniques and began to see that she is an
excellent writer with beautiful descriptions. Her writing reminds me a little of Maya Angelou.