Rebecca Study Companion: Analysis and Exercises

Posted on Mar 6, 2026 in English

Story Outline

The story follows a narrator who feels bored and out of place. She prefers the restaurant where she talks to a woman, while her companion shows little interest. She barely eats and feels uncomfortable, noticing that she is not where she wanted to be.

Word Focus

• Talk, speak, say, tell
• Usage: say, talking, told

Grammar Focus: Preferences

• Maxim preferred living in Italy to living in England.
• Mrs. Van Hopper preferred travelling with a companion to travelling on her own.
• The narrator preferred working for Mrs. Van Hopper to doing nothing.
• Maxim preferred staying in hotels to staying at home.
• Maxim preferred travelling to being bored at home.

Reminiscence and Memory

• The place reminded him of Rebecca.
• Favell reminded him of the night that Rebecca disappeared.
• Mrs. Danvers reminded her of what Rebecca would have wanted.
• The cottage on the beach reminded him of Rebecca’s last night.

Comprehension Questions

1. Why was Maxim de Winter broken-hearted?
2. Why did the narrator have some free time?
3. Where did the narrator see Rebecca’s handwriting?
4. What was odd about the signature?
5. Why did the narrator tear out the page?
6. What did Maxim ask her to do?
7. What did she understand him to mean?
8. How long had Mrs. Danvers been at Manderley?
9. What did Mrs. Danvers offer to show the narrator?

Vocabulary List

Agent, corridor, inquest, gallery, evidence, hostess, lodge, shutters, terrace, rockets, coroner, magistrate, verdict, buoys, cabin, coastguard, dinghy, harbour, victim, divorce.

Reflections

1. Living in the Past

Some people, especially the elderly, live in the past because their memories are stronger than their present life. Remembering bad memories can be painful, but it can also help us learn. I think it is better to remember them, but not live trapped in them.

2. Jealousy

Yes, I have felt jealous of someone before. I wanted to be like that person, but I also felt insecure because I thought I could never be the same. Jealousy often comes from low self-confidence.

B. Definitions of the Hidden Words

1. Coroner
2. Colonel
3. Inquest
4. Verdict
5. Suicide
6. Buoy
7. Agent
8. Boathouse
9. Evidence
10. Companion
11. Cottage
12. Honeymoon
13. Flashback
14. Butler

A. Summary (Pages 1–45)

Key terms: Manderley, hotel, Maxim de Winter, Monte Carlo, twenty-one, companion, narrator, note, influenza, America, marriage, Italy, Mrs. Danvers, butler, cousin, dog, west, Frank Crawley, sister, Rebecca.

B. Multiple Choice and True/False

A. True / False: 1-F, 2-F, 3-F, 4-T, 5-F, 6-F, 7-T, 8-T, 9-T, 10-F.

B. Multiple Choice: 1-a, 2-b, 3-b, 4-c, 5-a, 6-c, 7-a, 8-b, 9-a, 10-c.

C. Who are they?

1. Beatrice and Giles Lacy
2. Mrs. Danvers
3. Frank Crawley
4. Beatrice
5. Robert
6. Mrs. Danvers
7. Mrs. Danvers
8. Favell
9. Favell
10. Ben

D. Complete the Sentences

1. …left a suicide note.
2. …knew she was dying of cancer.
3. …loved life and was ambitious.
4. …found the doctor’s evidence.
5. …the sky was red because of the fire.

E. Match

1-c, 2-b, 3-e, 4-a, 5-d.

Character Interactions