Rebecca Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Rebecca is narrated by a shy young woman, never named, who marries the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter and moves to his great house, Manderley, on the Cornish coast. Everything there is haunted by the memory of his glamorous first wife, Rebecca, and her devoted housekeeper, until a shipwreck exposes what really happened.
The narrator's first name is never given; she is known only as the second Mrs. de Winter.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| The narrator | Shy young second wife |
| Maxim de Winter | Brooding owner of Manderley |
| Rebecca | Maxim's dead first wife |
| Mrs. Danvers | Housekeeper devoted to Rebecca |
| Mrs. Van Hopper | Vulgar woman the narrator worked for |
| Frank Crawley | Maxim's loyal estate manager |
| Jack Favell | Rebecca's cousin |
| Beatrice | Maxim's sister |
How does the narrator meet Maxim?
The narrator works as a paid companion to the snobbish Mrs. Van Hopper in Monte Carlo. There she meets Maxim de Winter, whose wife Rebecca drowned in a sailing accident the year before. They spend days together, and when Mrs. Van Hopper decides to leave, Maxim abruptly proposes. They marry and go to Manderley.
↑ Back to the topWhat is life at Manderley like?
Manderley seems to belong to Rebecca. Her monogram is on everything, her rooms are kept as she left them, and the staff follow her routines. The cold housekeeper Mrs. Danvers worshipped Rebecca and resents the new wife. The narrator feels clumsy and inadequate and believes Maxim still loves his first wife.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens at the costume ball?
Mrs. Danvers suggests a costume copied from a portrait in the hall. When the narrator appears in it, Maxim turns white with anger: Rebecca wore the same dress at her last ball. The next day Mrs. Danvers urges the devastated narrator to jump from Rebecca's window. A ship runs aground in the bay, and divers discover Rebecca's sunken boat with a body inside.
↑ Back to the topWhat really happened to Rebecca?
Maxim confesses that he hated Rebecca. Beautiful and charming in public, she was cruel and unfaithful in private. On the night she died, she told him she was pregnant with another man's child and would pass it off as his heir. He shot her and sank her body in the boat. The narrator, relieved that he never loved Rebecca, stands by him.
↑ Back to the topHow does Rebecca end?
An inquest rules that Rebecca took her own life by sinking the boat. Jack Favell, her cousin and lover, tries to blackmail Maxim. They visit Rebecca's secret London doctor and learn she was not pregnant but had incurable cancer, which supports the verdict and suggests she provoked Maxim deliberately. Driving home at night, Maxim and the narrator see a red glow in the sky. Manderley is burning.
↑ Back to the topMore about Rebecca
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.