“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the Iron Gate leading to the drive and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me”.
These are the famous opening lines which open the way for mystery. The first chapter is mostly a description of the narrators mysterious dream, which makes us enthralled to find out why the narrator has dreamed this dream and to find the answers. The opening pages also portray a sense of loss and regret for what has gone before. The two characters, Maxim and the narrator are escaping Manderley and we have yet to understand why. This is also a factor of mystery.
When we first come across Maxim in the story we know he is deeply sad, and we take the reason for this to be the death of his wife, Rebecca. The mystery which evolves round this is why Maxim does not talk about his wife or the events surrounding her death.
Once the narrator and Maxim are married and they return to Manderley they meet Mrs Danvers, Mrs Danvers frightens the narrator and does not make her feel welcome, this is mysterious as the narrator has done no harm to Mrs Danvers.
There are a lot of mysterious features about Manderley; The West Wing were Maxim and his former wife used to sleep, this is out of bounds to the new Mrs De Winters; The fact that the bedrooms in the West Wing are beautiful and much more elaborate that the ones the narrator has in the East Wing, also the fact that they are kept as a shrine to Rebecca; the boathouse which is situated in the gardens of Manderley, the narrator is advised not to visit there; the visit from Jack which has to be kept a secret from Maxim;
The Manderley Ball: the narrator is struggling to come up with a suggestion for a costume and Mrs Danvers steps in with an idea, Mrs Danvers knows this idea will cause a lot of friction and open a lot of wounds. Mrs Danvers relishes in the fact that other peoples grief has gave her so much satisfaction.
The twist in the story that Maxim actually shot his wife and the reasons that unfold after his confession prove mysterious as there are hidden reasons why Rebecca called Maxim’s bluff about her pregnancy.
Mystery surrounds the novel as a whole: The grandeur of Manderley; why Maxim married the narrator; why Maxim does not talk about his former wife Rebecca; the house itself with its prohibited wings; Mrs Danvers the housekeeper and why she hates the narrator; Jack, Rebecca’s cousin and why his visit was to remain a secret; the events leading up to the confession by Maxim; The reasons why Rebecca faked her pregnancy; why she kept her cancer a secret; and why Manderley was obviously set on fire deliberately.