Isabella Hajnos
Mrs. Molyneaux
H English Per. D
Topic D
Topic D
1 May 2015
The
Ball
After
the main character is at Manderley for quite some time, she reluctantly agrees
to throw a ball with Maxim hosting to attempt to show herself over Rebecca.
Mrs. Danvers comes in to assist the main character in finding a costume, and she
suggests replicating a dress from one of the pictures in the hall of Maxims
grandmother, Caroline. This, at first, seems like Mrs. Danvers is genuinely
trying to help the main character. She even gives the main character the name
of a dressmaker in London named Voce. As the party is getting set up, the main
character is very excited about her dress and how it looks on her. She did not
look “[herself] at all… someone much more interesting, more vivid and alive” (du
Maurier 208). The main character is trying so desperately to show Maxim she is
not a child and says “you won’t know me… you will both get the shock of your
lives” to Maxim and Frank (du Maurier 208). This foreshadows what later happens
at the ball.
As the main character comes down
the steps in her beautiful gown, everybody’s jaw drops; however, this is not
the sort of jaw-dropping the main character expects. She is very confused to
see Maxim and Beatrice in complete shock. He forces her to change out of the
dress, and as she embarrassingly runs away, she sees Mrs. Danvers’ “face,
loathsome, triumphant. The face of an exulting devil… smiling at [her]” (du
Marier 218). It is later revealed that Rebecca wore that gown at her last big
event, and Beatrice implies that she thought Rebecca came back to life when the
main character showed herself. This only adds to Rebeccas presence; that she is
and will always be alive and thriving. Mrs. Danvers specifically chose that
dress. She wanted to make the main character feel embarrassed and ashamed by
the people of the ball and hated by Maxim. The ball is significant because it
is the turning point of the novel and shows Mrs. Danvers’ true hate for the
main character.
I agree that Mrs. Danvers' sabotage of the main character is a very important event! For the first time, the main character can be completely sure that Mrs. Danvers has malevolent intentions towards her. Up to this point in the novel, the main character has been going back and forth with herself, insecure and unsure whether or not those around her approve of her presence. When Mrs. Danvers finally takes action on her hateful feelings, it validates the main character's insecurities. Despite all the progress she made with her self-esteem before the ball, the main character suddenly becomes sure that her marriage is a "failure" and that she will never overcome Rebecca's legend-- all thanks to Mrs. Danvers.
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