the second Mrs. de Winter

E717113

fictional character literary character novel protagonist unreliable narrator

The second Mrs. de Winter is the shy, unnamed young narrator and new wife of Maxim de Winter in Daphne du Maurier’s novel "Rebecca," whose life at the grand estate of Manderley is overshadowed by the lingering presence of his first wife.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
the second Mrs. de Winter canonical	4
second Mrs. de Winter	2
the second Mrs de Winter	2
Mrs. de Winter	1
the second Mrs. de Winter from the novel "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8157106 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: the second Mrs. de Winter
Context triple: [Manderley, residenceOfFictional, the second Mrs. de Winter]

A. Rebecca
Rebecca is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin meaning “to tie” or “to bind,” widely used in English-speaking countries.
B. Lady de Winter
Lady de Winter is a cunning and dangerous spy and assassin serving Cardinal Richelieu in Alexandre Dumas’ novel "The Three Musketeers."
C. Rebecca (1940 film)
Rebecca (1940 film) is a 1940 gothic romantic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s novel, and renowned for its haunting atmosphere and Laurence Olivier’s performance.
D. Rebecca Devereaux
Rebecca Devereaux is a recurring character on the sitcom "The Golden Girls," known as Blanche Devereaux's daughter who often appears in storylines about family, self-image, and relationships.
E. Lady Clarick de Winter
Lady Clarick de Winter is an alternate identity or alias used by the character Charlotte Backson.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: the second Mrs. de Winter
Target entity description: The second Mrs. de Winter is the shy, unnamed young narrator and new wife of Maxim de Winter in Daphne du Maurier’s novel "Rebecca," whose life at the grand estate of Manderley is overshadowed by the lingering presence of his first wife.

A. Rebecca
Rebecca is a feminine given name of Hebrew origin meaning “to tie” or “to bind,” widely used in English-speaking countries.
B. Lady de Winter
Lady de Winter is a cunning and dangerous spy and assassin serving Cardinal Richelieu in Alexandre Dumas’ novel "The Three Musketeers."
C. Rebecca (1940 film)
Rebecca (1940 film) is a 1940 gothic romantic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s novel, and renowned for its haunting atmosphere and Laurence Olivier’s performance.
D. Rebecca Devereaux
Rebecca Devereaux is a recurring character on the sitcom "The Golden Girls," known as Blanche Devereaux's daughter who often appears in storylines about family, self-image, and relationships.
E. Lady Clarick de Winter
Lady Clarick de Winter is an alternate identity or alias used by the character Charlotte Backson.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	fictional character ⓘ literary character ⓘ novel protagonist ⓘ unreliable narrator ⓘ
adaptedIn	1940 film “Rebecca” directed by Alfred Hitchcock ⓘ linked to: Rebecca (1940 film) various stage adaptations of “Rebecca” ⓘ
appearsInWork	Rebecca ⓘ
basedOn	Daphne du Maurier herself (partly, by author’s admission) ⓘ linked to: Daphne du Maurier
characterTrait	imaginative ⓘ insecure ⓘ romantic ⓘ self-effacing ⓘ shy ⓘ socially awkward ⓘ
countryOfCitizenship	United Kingdom ⓘ
creator	Daphne du Maurier ⓘ
famousOpeningLine	“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” ⓘ
feelsOvershadowedBy	Rebecca de Winter ⓘ
firstAppearance	Rebecca ⓘ
firstPublicationYear	1938 ⓘ
formerOccupation	paid companion to Mrs. Van Hopper ⓘ
gender	female ⓘ
intimidatedBy	Mrs. Danvers ⓘ
literarySignificance	archetype of the insecure Gothic heroine ⓘ
maritalStatus	married ⓘ
marriesIn	Monte Carlo ⓘ
meets	Maxim de Winter ⓘ
meetsAt	Monte Carlo ⓘ
movesTo	Manderley ⓘ linked to: Manderley (fictional estate)
name	unknown ⓘ
narrativePerspective	first person ⓘ
narrativeTimeFrame	retrospective account ⓘ
notableFeature	remains unnamed throughout the novel ⓘ
occupation	companion ⓘ
portrayedBy	Joan Fontaine ⓘ
positionInWork	central character ⓘ narrator ⓘ
relationshipToRebecca	successor as Maxim de Winter’s wife ⓘ
residence	Manderley ⓘ linked to: Manderley (fictional estate)
socialStatus	lower middle class ⓘ
spouse	Maxim de Winter ⓘ
stepRelative	Rebecca de Winter ⓘ
themeAssociation	class difference ⓘ identity ⓘ jealousy ⓘ marital power dynamics ⓘ
undergoesCharacterDevelopment	accepts truth about Rebecca ⓘ gains confidence ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (10)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Manderley → residenceOfFictional → the second Mrs. de Winter ⓘ

subject linked to: Manderley (fictional estate)

Mrs. Danvers → influences → second Mrs. de Winter ⓘ