Rebecca: Chapters 16–20

by Daphne du Maurier
The young and naive narrator of this novel marries a wealthy widower and moves to his stately mansion, where she uncovers dark secrets about his first wife.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–20, Chapters 21–27
15 words 261 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. paraphernalia
    equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles
    They stayed for tea, of course, and instead of a lazy nibbling of cucumber sandwiches under the chestnut tree, we had the paraphernalia of a stiff tea in the drawing-room, which I always loathed.
  2. inimitable
    matchless
    Maxim was always at the other end of the room, showing a book to a bore, or pointing out a picture, playing the perfect host in his own inimitable way, and the business of tea was a side-issue that did not matter to him.
  3. perquisite
    a right reserved exclusively by a person or group
    “I never dress up,” said Maxim. “It’s the one perquisite allowed to the host, isn’t it, Frank?”
  4. pretentious
    intended to attract notice and impress others
    Nothing seemed suitable, they were all so elaborate and pretentious, those gorgeous costumes of velvet and silk in the reproductions given of Rubens, Rembrandt and others.
  5. tortuous
    highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious
    Men are simpler than you imagine, my sweet child. But what goes on in the twisted tortuous minds of women would baffle anyone.
  6. bodice
    part of a dress above the waist
    The white dress should be easy to copy. Those puffed sleeves, the flounce, and the little bodice.
  7. painstaking
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
    He moved amongst the guests like another host seeing to their comfort, that they were supplied with drink, and food, and cigarettes, and he danced too in solemn painstaking fashion, walking his partners round the room with a set face.
  8. pall
    a dark covering or cloud, as of smoke
    And when the last rocket burst and the cheering died away the night that had been fine before seemed dull and heavy in contrast, the sky became a pall.
  9. inkling
    a slight suggestion or vague understanding
    “You look very charming in your blue. Everyone said so. And nobody had an inkling about — about the other thing, so you mustn’t worry.”
  10. hysterical
    marked by excessive or uncontrollable emotion
    I thought of the youthful almost hysterical excitement and conceit with which I had gone into this marriage, imagining I would bring happiness to Maxim, who had known much greater happiness before.
  11. stolid
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
    He was normal again, stolid, dull, not the fey excited creature of the past few weeks.
  12. sacrilege
    blasphemous behavior
    “There are thousands of second marriages taking place every day. You talk as though my marrying Mr. de Winter was a crime, a sacrilege against the dead. Haven’t we as much right to be happy as anyone else?"
  13. latent
    potentially existing but not presently evident or realized
    The horror of my morning and the stranded ship and not having any lunch had all combined to give birth to a latent sense of excitement at the back of my mind that I did not understand.
  14. derogatory
    expressive of low opinion
    Robert brought in my tea, and I ate my bread-and-butter hungrily. He had brought scones as well, and some sandwiches, and an angel cake. He must have thought it derogatory to bring bread-and-butter alone, nor was it Manderley routine.
  15. pram
    a baby carriage with four wheels
    You would enjoy it, wouldn’t you, seeing my son lying in his pram under the chestnut tree, playing leap-frog on the lawn, catching butterflies in the Happy Valley?
Created on Sun Mar 24 16:20:21 EDT 2019 (updated Mon Aug 04 11:16:02 EDT 2025)

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