Mrs. Van Hopper has decided that her and the narrator must move from Monte Carlo to New York because, "Little Nancy has a threatened appendix and they've cabled her to go home" (46). Mrs. Van Hopper tells the narrator about them moving, only to receive a not so happy response from the narrator. Upon getting orders to go down to the clerk, the narrator decides that the moment is too much for her to handle and she locks herself in the bathroom.
Once in the bathroom, she is mentally going through what's going to happen with her relationship with Mr. de Winter. She plays through their last in person communication and envisions them exchanging addresses to write to one another. While she's sitting on the floor, Mrs. Van Hopper comes a knocking and tells her that there is absolutely no time to waste, she must get moving!
The two women went to the restaurant for lunch, where the narrator was absolutely horrified that their waiter was going to mention something about Mr. de Winter. After lunch, the packing continued. The narrator continually kept going down to the lobby to check if Mr. de Winter had returned from Cannes, only to be disappointed when the clerk told her that he shall not return until past midnight. Oh no, will she not get to say goodbye? Plenty of time to say goodbye - She marries him!
The next day, upon departing, the narrator decides that she can't bare the pain of leaving without saying goodbye. She runs up to room 148, Mr. de Winters and has a conversation with him. She tells him that she is leaving and he doesn't react well. He's upset that she didn't tell him sooner. Foreshadowing: "...and I don't want to go. I shall hate it; I shall be miserable" (51). "Why in heaven's name go with her then?" (51). She responds by saying that she can't afford to live on her own with out Mrs. Vane Hopper. Mr. de Winter asks her to live with him, and asks if, "Do you mean you want a secretary or something?" (52). THEN, "No, I'm asking you to marry me you little fool!" (52). ...I totally saw this coming! What happens next (other than moving into Manderely together, I'm not sure! I'm still on the whole she's-going-to-kill-him train of thought.
"I was to be Mrs. de Winter" (57).
The narrator, Mrs. de Winter, sends Mr. de Winter to go talk to Mrs. Van Hopper about their relationship. Mrs. Van Hopper doesn't take it well and is in shock when Mrs. de Winter goes to talk to her. She's very arrogant, and snobbish, bringing up the point that she lied and said she was playing tennis when Mrs. Van Hopper had the influenza. While Mrs. Van Hopper was getting briefed on their relationship, Mrs. de Winter was burning the dedication page in the book of poems that said it was from Rebecca to Max. "The flame had a lovely light, straining the paper, curling the edges, making the slanting writing impossible to distinguish" (58). Mrs. de Winter seems to fear Rebecca, or at least the memory of Rebecca. Will this affect their relationship in the long term? Will Rebecca, although deceased, create strong tension between the two at some point?
At the conclusion of this chapter, Mrs. Van Hopper says, "You know why he is marrying you, don't you? You haven't flattered yourself he's in love with you? The fact is that the empty house got on his nerves to such an extent that he nearly went off his head. He admitted as much before you came into the room. he just can't go on living there alone..." (61). Reiterating my previous questions, I wonder if Rebecca is going to stand in the way of their relationship? I wonder if after the new Mrs. de Winter gets moved in and settled Mr. de Winter realizes that she isn't Rebecca. ...and in turn she kills him when she tries to divorce her...Okay, maybe not, but I think something significant is going to happen after the new Mrs. de Winter's arrival in Manderely.
Vocabulary:
infinitesimal: extremely small
Literary Devices & Important Quotations
Characterization
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