Rebecca : Is this a goof? When did Rebecca meet Danvers?

Danvers says that Rebecca began seeing Dr. Baker (who diagnosed her cancer) before her marriage, and Dr. Baker says that he had been seeing her for "a long time." But Rebecca gave the name "Danvers" to Dr. Baker. There is no indication that Rebecca knew Danvers before her marriage and unless she did, she could not have given that name to Dr. Baker. I suppose that this could be accounted for by assuming that there was a connection between Rebecca and Danvers that predated her marriage and that this connection resulted in Danvers becoming the housekeeper. But nothing in the movie suggests this. Does anyone know if the novel sheds and light on this question?

Mrs Danvers says she arrived at Manderley with Rebecca 'when she came here as a bride', so presumably they knew each other previously.

By the way I don't know how much it matters in the Q/A section, but you might want to mention that your question contains a major spoiler!

It is part of the rules to want the death of the exception.

Mea culpa. But who hasn't already seen Rebecca. BTW, at what point does Danvers say that?

I know at some point the second Mrs. de Winter asks Danvers if she hasn't been at Manderley a long time. Danvers answers as indicated.

Mrs. De Winter is in her room the morning after she arrives at Mandaley. Crisp and creepy Danvers enters and tells her the parlor made will need to go back to her own duties once Mrs. De Winter's own personal maid arrives.

Mrs. De Winter says to Danvers: I suppose you've been at Mandalay for many years; longer than anyone else.

Danvers: Not so long as Fritz, he was here when the old gentleman was living, when Mr. De Winter was a boy.

Mrs.: Oh, I see, and you didn't come until after that?

Danvers: I came here when the First Mrs. De Winter was a bride.

and then an awkward silence.

My impression from this conversation was that Danvers had been with Rebecca long before Rebecca had married De Winter. How else would she know everything about Rebecca, and build such a deep and unhealthy bond with her. Making the pillow slip with the beautiful monogram for her slip, etc.

TOni,

To be clear, I believe you are right that Danvers knew Rebecca before Rebecca married Maxim. how far before, and in what context, I don't believe is referred to in the film.

Younger people haven't seen Rebecca yet. It's just a point of courtesy to put the word spoiler in your subject title. Then the reader can only blame themselves if they find out more than they intended to.

it's been a while since i read the book but i think danvers is a childhood maid to rebecca. can someone correct me on that one?

Yes, that is correct. At one point in the novel Mrs. Danvers recalls how she first observes Rebecca's dominant nature while she was still a child.

thanks

There is another explanation. When Rebecca consulted Dr Baker before her marriage she would have given him her single name. Then, later,when she consulted him after her marriage she gave him the name Danvers which he assumed was her new married name. In talking to Col Julyan & the others, the doctor referred to her by the name in his appointment book for her final consultation.There was no need for him to refer to her by her single name - & indeed he may have forgotten it.

yes, this means we never know Rebecca's real maiden name I think? It keeps an element of mystery.

Although it is possible to get very queer vibes from the Mrs Danvers scene, I think she makes it quite clear that she knew Rebecca as a girl. She was probably a nurse maid of some kind, was kept on as a lady's maid as Rebecca got older and then went with her to live at Manderley. Aristocratic life was famously very standoffish in the parenting line, so I think Danvers's love for Rebecca is in the first instance very maternal, replacing Rebecca's natural mother, excessively so because Danvers can't have had children of her own looking after Rebecca so much.

Early in the film Mrs. Van Hopper refers to Rebecca as the former Rebecca Hentridge.

I assumed from that that Rebecca was using Danvers as an assumed name, for whatever reason. The implication is that she was into shady dealings before her marriage, which is in keeping with her image. She knew Mrs. Danvers before hte marriage, too, and may merely have used the name because it occurred to her through familiarity. I am sure it does not mean she was related to Mrs. Danvers actually.

Hentridge, Hilleridge, something like that. In any case, Mrs. van Hopper does mention the late Mrs. deWinter's maiden name that first night.


I believe there is a simple answer for Rebecca's using Danvers as her last name when she went to see Dr. Baker. The name deWinter was too well known for her to take any chance in sullying it not because she loved Maxim but because she loved the lifestyle his money afforded her. So, she used "Danvers" as an assumed name, that's all.

Read the novel. Mrs. Danvers reveals that she had the care of Rebecca as a child.

That clears it up. Thanks. Does the novel explain why Rebecca used Danvers' name to the doctor?

The novel's description of Danvers caring for the juvenile Rebecca is not carried into the film because in the novel the age difference between Danvers and Rebecca is much greater than in the film. The film makes no reference to Danvers in such capacity. There are a number of other material differences between the novel and the film.

In the novel, does Rebecca use Danvers' name to the London doctor and is the reason given?

This is a really late reply, but the answer is yes - and Rebecca uses "Danvers" to hide her famous surname and link to the great estate in Cornwall. "Rebecca Danvers" is the name she uses in her secret life (so for her London doctor, her London apartment, etc.) She keeps this life strictly separate from her life as Rebecca de Winter, the aristocratic society hostess.

What presumably makes Mrs Danvers snap is that Rebecca, whom she thought she knew everything about and whom she thought was completely open and honest with her (and only her) kept the news of cancer secret from her.

P.S. In the novel I'm sure it is stated that Rebecca's "Rebecca Danvers" life was starting to slip into her Manderley life (through the use of the boathouse). Maxim says that towards the end, she started getting sloppy about keeping the mysterious - but allegedly repulsive - things she got up to secret and well away from Manderley.