Throughout the novel Rebecca there are a number of conflicts between characters. Mrs de Winter finds herself at the centre of many of these serious disagreements. She is in conflict with Rebecca as well as Mrs Danvers - and of course the two are linked.
Mrs Danvers is the housekeeper of Manderley, the sprawling estate owned by Max de Winter. Her love for Max's previous wife, Rebecca, was both intense and obsessive. She has never recovered from Rebecca's death, and consequently cannot ever accept that Max wants the new Mrs de Winter to take her place. Mrs Danvers' hatred of Mrs de Winter is the direct consequence of her love for Rebecca.
The fact that the new Mrs de Winter is the opposite of Rebecca in so many ways makes it all the more easier for Mrs Danvers to bully the new mistress of Manderley. Whereas Rebecca was an outgoing, extrovert socialite, Mrs de Winter is shy and retiring. Rebecca was tall and beautiful, an elegant woman with a refined taste, filling the house with beautiful furnishings and works of art. The new Mrs de Winter is pale and small; she has no interest or experience in organising the house. She has no taste and no desire to change anything that already exists.
These differences and conflicts come to a head in the run-up to the grand ball at Manderley. It fills the entire Chapter 16, and we are able to see as we trace events through the chapter a glimpse of author Daphne du Maurier's narrative skills.
The chapter starts innocently enough with visitors to the house talking of the regular fancy dress balls that used to be organised by Rebecca. A decision is taken to hold a ball just like the old days. Mrs de Winter sees it as a way of getting her husband to appreciate her more as an adult:
'I wished something would happen to make me look wiser, more mature.' (p220)
