Rebecca

How is Manderley described in the opening of the novel Rebecca?

In the beginning of Rebecca

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The novel opens with the narrator describing a dream that she had the night before. In the dream, the narrator travels in ghost form through the grounds of Manderley. The drive is overrun with grass and moss and the rhododendrons have overtaken the garden, but the beautiful house is still as elegant and perfect as it once was. Suddenly, a cloud passes in front of the moon, and the illusion vanishes. Instead of the house that she remembers, the narrator sees nothing but a charred ruin. Still dreaming, the narrator decides not to be upset by this tragic vision of Manderley but to find comfort in her memories of the estate. Yet, when she awakes, she will not speak of the dream because Manderley “was no more.”

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http://www.gradesaver.com/rebecca/study-guide/section1/