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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—Friend and Brother:
In Chapter 4, the narrator and Maxim begin spending a lot of time together. The way she begins describing their relationship foreshadows the strangeness of their eventual marriage:
As he watched me into the lift I thought of yesterday, Mrs. Van Hopper’s chattering tongue, and his cold courtesy. I had ill-judged him, he was neither hard nor sardonic, he was already my friend of many years, the brother I had never possessed.
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Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Rebecca Burning:
In Chapter 6, the narrator pores over a book of poems Maxim has given her, excited to think that it might mean he is falling in love with her. She is disturbed to find that the title page bears an inscription "to Max from Rebecca," and she rips it out; what she does next foreshadows the end of novel:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I took a box of matches and set fire to the fragments. The flame had a lovely light, staining the paper, curling the edges, making the slanting writing impossible to distinguish. The fragments fluttered to gray ashes. The letter R was the last to go, it twisted in the flame, it curled outwards for a moment, becoming larger than ever. Then it crumpled too; the flame destroyed it. It was not ashes even, it was feathery dust… I went and washed my hands in the basin. I felt better, much better.
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Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Je Reviens:
In Chapter 13, the narrator explores the harbor and finds a buoy with the name "Je Reviens" inscribed on it. This name, and the narrator's reflection on it, foreshadows the discovery of Rebecca's boat and body a few chapters later:
Unlock with LitCharts A+“Je Reviens”—“I come back.” Yes, I suppose it was quite a good name for a boat. Only it had not been right for that particular boat which would never come back again.
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