AN; This is an essay I did for my English class when we studied Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I scored 19/20 because I didn't introduce my quotes!

You can use this as inspiration or something...Just don't steal.

Rebecca

How is Atmosphere Established in the Opening Chapter of the Novel?

Rebecca is arguably the most famous novel written by Daphne Du Maurier during her 82 year life span. First published in 1938, it tells the story of an unnamed narrator and her past with a house called Manderley. The opening chapter, which describes the dream of the narrator, starts with one of the most famous and atmospheric lines in Literature; ‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again’

Manderley is the mysterious manor house down by the sea; we later learn that it belongs to one Maximillian De Winter and there were some unfortunate occurrences associated with the house and its tenants. These are almost foreshadowed by the ambience that is portrayed in the opening of the novel, as the house appears abandoned and unruly, as if it is in mourning. The opening chapter puts forward the many conflicting emotions the narrator has for the house. She uses ideas that suggest the houses’ spiritual imprisonment, but her ability to still access the house.

‘The little lattice windows gaped forlorn’ is an example of this idea, almost as if they are trying to get away from this place that almost exudes sorrow and forbidding, yet realising that they have no choice but to exist. The plants that have apparently taken over this once beautiful and loved house are described as ‘half-breeds’ and are personified thoroughly.

It seems as if every beautiful element of Manderley is being taken away by the ‘long, tenacious fingers’ of nature which has been left to worsen over time. The house has been taken away by these creatures that only exist in Manderley, yet the narrator remains faithful and caring. She obviously feels deeply connected to the manor, saying that their ‘fear and suffering lay buried in the ruins’ of the house, which suggests to me that she feels that there couldn’t be another place that her feelings could be buried, because Manderley has a special place in her heart.

The use of personification is strong and has a great deal of impact; the narrator appears to know the house so well, that she can state how the plants and roads ‘acted’ before the abandonment of Manderley; her memories of the past still remain beautifully intact. She applies her insight of her previous, beloved home and compares it to the ‘soulless’ ruins that stand now.

She still refers to the house in a fond, affectionate tone, claiming that ‘time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls’ and that Manderley was ‘a jewel’. The context in which some phrases are placed suggests tragedy in the past, maybe not in an obvious way, but the implications of this phrase are there; such as ‘imprints of heads upon them’, the use of the plural of ‘head’ suggests a romantic or familial interlude, but the fact that the imprints are still there proposes that there was a hurried departure. To leave such a comfortable situation isn’t usually what people want to do, so it suggests there was a strong prompt, causing them to do so.

Throughout the first chapter the narrators dream is described vividly, but the significance is that the sequence is entirely a dream. Not a nightmare though, she loves the manor and she desires it, even though it is gone; but it is slightly bittersweet that she can only go to it in her fondest dreams. The entire book is in first person, but having the first sequence as a dream sequence from the dreamer’s point of view gives you an immediate attachment to this person. You first ‘meet’ the house through the narrators’ point of view and thus you only receive their true feelings for it, once more connecting you with the story on a much more emotional level.

‘Manderley was no more’ it has been destroyed so thoroughly that it is only left in the narrators’ heart and mind. The first chapter is written as a prelude to the main body of the novel; the present is written before the actual story, which is the past, is told. It sort of ends the story before it begins, but gives little away, leaving the reader to ask questions, intrigued about this unnamed girl and the house that is so dear to her heart. The phrase ‘Manderley was no more’ is a final phrase said at the beginning of the novel, and it gives you the opportunity, as the story progresses, to put the pieces together yourself.

Manderley seems forbidden, yet so captivating that you would climb over the wall just to see what it looked like close up. Almost like that haunted house at the end of the road that small children are terrified of, but will accept a dare to go to and knock on its door. Manderley was beautiful, but as time went on and the house fell into a more and more decrepit state the atmosphere has become less darling and a little more daring, almost as if it’s not meant to exist anymore.