Rebecca XIII

The doctor consults his notes and says that there is a reason why this woman he saw might have committed suicide.. She was seriously ill. He said that she came to him, thinking that she was pregnant.. but that when he did some tests, he found that she had uterine cancer and that she would not recover. He could see that she was a tough woman who could stand the news so he told her. She paid his fee and left. Maxim realises now that Rebecca provoked him to kill her, to spare herself a longer illness. She knew that telling him she was going to foist another man's baby on him would provoke him to fury and murder. Col Julyan is relieved, that the doctor has told them there was a good reason why Rebecca might have drowned herself. He warns Favell that this disposes of all his attempts at blackmail. It was suicide by Rebecca and nothing more. When Favell has gone, Julyan advises the De Winters that he'll do his best to dispel any rumours that there was anything mysterious about Rebecca's death but suggests that it might be a good idea for them to take a trip abroad for a time, until any possible gossip dies down. They decide to go back to Manderley, exhausted but relieved.

Rebecca XII (Short)

When Maxim, Colonel Julyan and Frank check up on the number, they find that it is that of a retired doctor, working in London. Mrs Danvers confirms that Rebecca rarely saw a doctor. They decide to drive to London the following day and see what information they can glean from him about what has happened. Mrs De Winter is terrified, believing that Rebecca knew she was pregnant. That was why she needed to see a doctor. If that comes out, it will reveal the motive for Maxim losing his temper and killing her.. that she told him she was pregnant by another man but was planning to pass the child off as his. Col Julyan is obviously worried, wanting to sympathise with Maxim but having to do his duty as a magistrate. He tells the de Winters that he will accompany them the following day. Favell insists on coming as well. Mrs De Winter passes a terrifying night, afraid that the next day will bring things to a climax. She feels that Maxim will be arrested for murder. They set off the next morning, followed by Jack Favell. When they get to North London, they find the doctor's house, and explain that Jack, as Rebecca's cousin, was not satisfied with the verdict at the inquest. The doctor tells them that he has a note of a Mrs Danver consulting him... so it's obvious that Rebecca used a false name.

Rebecca XI

Mrs De Winter almost faints during the inquest. It helps Maxim, because he has been on the verge of losing his temper with the Coroner, and seeing his wife ill, makes him focus on saving himself..and her. Mrs De Winter is divided between her happiness that Maxim loves her and her fear that his killing of Rebecca will come out. The verdict of the inquest is that Rebecca committed suicide, though they cannot decide what was her motive. Afterwards, her body has to be buried. Maxim has to attend his wife's funeral, but while Mrs De Winter is waiting for him to come home, Favell turns up. He insists on seeing Maxim, who comes in with Frank Crawley. It is plain that Favell has blackmail on his mind.... He tells Maxim that he does not believe the inquest verdict.. He is sure that Rebecca would not have killed herself - But he says that he would keep quiet about this, if Maxim is willing to pay him a regular income. Maxim wants to throw him out but he holds his nerve and sends for Colonel Julyan, the local magistrate. When Julyan arrives, he is sympathetic to Maxim, as a fellow gentleman and friend. He is not inclined to believe the words of a cad like Favell. But Jack has some evidence. He claims that he and Rebecca were lovers. He says they were going to marry. He thinks that Maxim probably killed her, out of jealousy. He also says that he has a note from her that suggests she did not have suicide on her mind. He produces the note which was delivered to him in London after Rebecca had left the city and returned to Cornwall on the fatal night. In it, she asks Favell to come to the cottage, as she wants to speak to him. Maxim is afraid of the note. If she was writing to Favell to say she needed to see him, it is unlikely that she was planning suicide. But he stays calm and asks for more information. Jack claims that Ben, a local man who is a bit simple, used to see him and Rebecca together at the cottage. He was always snooping around, and can confirm that they were lovers... Maxim sends for Ben, and the man refuses to answer. He is clearly afraid to say anything at all. Then Favell asks to see Mrs Danvers, to confirm the affair, but she too is not all that helpful.. She won't say that Rebecca was Favell's one true love and mistress.. She claims that Rebecca despised men, and that if she amused herself with any of them, it didn't mean very much. But she says she can look up Rebecca's old diary. She finds a number that is unfamiliar to her.. which may give some information on how Rebecca spent her last day.

Rebecca Part X

Mrs De Winter is more relieved than shocked when she learns of what happened with Maxim and Rebecca. She is happy that he loves her and that he never loved his first wife, that all her misery and jealousy of her rival were not needed. But Maxim did kill Rebecca and he fears that they will lose their chance of being happy. He reminds her there will have to be an inquest. She says that he must say that when he identified the other woman as Rebecca, he was ill and didn’t know what he was doing. The couple brace themselves for facing the press and the coroner. Mrs De Winter feels much stronger now and is finally able to tell Mrs Danvers that she is the mistress of the house and that she intends to run the house in her own way, and is not afraid any more. But the inquest does not go well. The boat builder who looked after Rebecca’s boat tells that he had checked it over and that it was sound but it had holes in it, when recovered that were deliberately driven into the boat. He believes it was tampered with and that the sinking was not an accident. The inquest decides that Rebecca must have done this herself and caused her own death so the verdict is given as suicide.

Rebecca Part IX

Maxim tells the full tale to his wife. Mrs De Winter has believed that he regretted his second marriage, that he still loved Rebecca and that he had only married her to have someone to provide him with a little companionship. She thinks that she, his second wife, was a nobody compared with his beloved first wife. Now, Maxim tells her that his second marriage is the one he made for love. He tells her that the marriage to Rebecca was a failure from the beginning. On their honeymoon, she told him all about herself. She calmly revealed that she was immoral and cold and heartless. She said she knew he would not wish for a divorce, because he was too proud to admit failure… Rebecca had told him that she’d be the perfect wife and hostess for Manderley. But he would have to accept that in private, she amused herself just as she pleased. She looked after the house, redecorated it, held parties and charmed the neighbours and the staff, but secretly she laughed at them. Maxim realises that one or 2 people gradually became suspicious of Rebecca. He thinks his sister Beatrice had found that Rebecca was flirting with Giles, her husband. She seemed uneasy, during one of their visits to Manderley.. and she stopped coming on one on one visits. She and Giles only went to their big parties. Also, Rebecca had started to try and seduce the shy awkward Frank Crawley, who didn't know how to cope with her advances. Maxim reassures his wife that he never loved Rebecca after the first few days, and that she is his true love. He hopes that they can re start their marriage and show their love for each other. Finally, he says, he decided to confront Rebecca about her affairs and bad behaviour. He had told her that she could not have her men friends at Manderley but she ignored that prohibition. He told her she could not see her cousin and lover, Jack Favell. Mrs De Winter admits that she met Jack but had been afraid to tell Maxim about it, in case it upset him and reminded him of Rebecca. Maxim tells her now that he decided to go to the cottage where Rebecca stayed after sailing. He was determined to talk to her and Jack. He took his gun, to scare off the bounder, Favell. He found Rebecca alone, and she was acting strangely. She told him that he would never get a divorce because Mrs Danvers would swear that there were no infidelities on her part. She says she is going to spend more time at Manderley. Maxim is horrified and angry - he has now almost reached the point where he would go for a divorce. But Rebecca tells him that if she had a son, it would be known as his son and would inherit the estate… Maxim is infuriated, and he loses his temper, and shoots her. He then puts her body in the boat, takes it out and sinks it. He is hoping that it will be believed that she went for a late night sail alone and it capsized….

Germanic Names

There are similarities between German and Old English names, due to the Saxon migrations to Britain. So there are German names that have made their way into British and English speaking culture. German names often have 2 elements, and in the past, sons would be given a name with the same first part (such as Ed) and different second parts. There is “Rupert” which is the German version of Robert. The name combines an element which means “Fame” and Bert which means Bright. Rupert was the name of Charles II’s cousin, Prince Rupert who came to live in England in the Restoration era. It's not a common name but has been used in England… The various “Ed” names all come from German, the first element Ead meaning wealth or riches. These include Edward, (Eduard in German) Edwin which means “Riches” combined with “ Friend”, Edmund, and Edgar. Another name which is occasionally used in England is Oswald, the first part “Os” means “god” and the second part is “Weald” or rule. Harold or Harald is another name, of Germanic origin.. which combines “Weald” for rule and Har which means army. It can be abbreviated to Hal or Harry. A very popular girl's name is Emma, which comes from the German word “Ermin” for whole or entire. It was the name of the mother of Edward the Confessor, and the name of Jane Austen’s heroine whom she felt “noone but herself would like.”. Another girls name of Germanic origin is Elsa, the name of Elsa Lanchester, wife of Charles Laughton. It is a short form of “Elisabeth”, the German spelling of Elizabeth. Adelaide is a name that came to Britain as the name of William IV’s wife. It comes from “adel” Which means noble and Heid which means “kind”. I hope to write a bit more on Germanic and other names soon.

Rebecca Part VIII (Short)

Mrs De Winter is sure that her marriage is now a complete failure, and wonders how to face Maxim after the ball. The following day, Beatrice tries to reassure her that all will be well but has to leave. She gets up late and finds that there is a ship foundering in the local bay. Maxim has gone out to try to coordinate the rescue efforts. She is left alone. When divers go down into the water, to see underneath the ship, one of them gets a horrible fright.. He discovers the boat that Rebecca had sailed in, and there is a body in it.... Captain Searle, the Harbour master, tells Maxim and his wife about the body. It is a skeleton. Mrs De Winter thinks at first that Rebecca must have been sailing with someone else and that body was still in the cabin, while Rebecca's had been washed out to sea. Maxim in his grief mis identified a strange woman as Rebecca. They learn that there will have to be an inquest, to determine who the body is and how the accident happened. When Searle has gone, Maxim tells Mrs De Winter the truth, that it is his wife who is lying on the cabin floor.. and that he killed her.