Mr. Danvers

                 

Polly Danvers, on her wedding day

WE CALLED HER MRS. DANVERS.  And of course it was wondered in the village, where and who was Mr. Danvers?  There must have been one, right?  At Manderley, the truth was known. 

Not always the tight lipped and cold guardian of the shadows and secrets of Manderley, Polly Danvers arrived with a smile on her face, as a blushing bride, (see the wedding photo above) always full of life and looking for a good time, yet simply dressed in her stylish black gown.  Who could have known at the time that her story would take a negative turn?

Barney Danvers, devilishly handsome, regal in bearing, was brought to Manderley as head of security. He brought his bride with him, to fill the position of housekeeper.  They both immediately fell in love with Rebecca, but that's another story.  He proved to be a strict taskmaster indeed.  Not only with the staff, who trembled at his very footsteps.  Standing at attention, you can see them lined up behind Mrs. Danvers, awaiting inspection.  Mrs. Danvers herself, had been prepared at the estimable "Lady Hawthorn's Finishing School for Exceptional Housekeeping", who's motto was,

"You will find the dust". 

The transformation from that sweet young bride to a basic crazy bitch, had begun.  And the last straw was when Mr. Danvers insisted on piping Muzak into their bedroom.  Could madness be far behind?

Barney Danvers, stayed in the shadows when an inspector came to call.  It was said, mostly by us, downstairs, that he had something to hide.  It was  discovered too late that he was an American actor, just trying to acquire an English accent, which of course proved to be impossible.  It only works the other way around.

So, Mrs. Danvers slowly sank into maddness, having to portray, night after night, the major female roles of the English repertoire, so that Mr.Danvers could rehearse Hamlet, or Lear, or even Jeeves. Waiting for his big chance. 

Mad and embittered, Mrs. Danvers spent the rest of her miserable life driving poor what's her name, bananas. And yet, even after Barney fled back to the states (what ever became of him?) she longingly watched the horizon for his return and the good old days.