Barnet

Barnet, a town on the northern outskirts of London, becomes the focal point of the final act of the novel's central crisis. It is here that Doctor Baker, a retired specialist, has settled in a house called Roselands, and it is to this address that Maxim de Winter, his second wife, Colonel Julyan, and Jack Favell drive in a tense, three-car convoy to verify a single entry in Rebecca de Winter's engagement diary. The journey to Barnet represents the last, desperate attempt to find a rational explanation for the scuttled boat and the body found in its cabin, an explanation that will either condemn Maxim or set him free.

The Journey and the House

The drive from Manderley to Barnet is long and exhausting, covering over two hundred miles. The party stops for a brief lunch at a hotel in a county town, where Maxim and the narrator eat cold ham and coffee while Colonel Julyan consumes a full set meal. Favell, following in his green car, eats separately at a café across the road. Upon reaching the London suburbs, the narrator is struck by the heat, the noise, and the dusty, tired atmosphere of the city in August, a stark contrast to the fresh, rain-washed air of Manderley. Once past Hampstead, Colonel Julyan takes over navigation with a large-scale map, directing Maxim through a series of turns and stops to ask for directions to "Roselands," the house of a "Doctor Baker, who's retired." The search is frustrating; a passerby knows only a "Doctor Davidson," and it is a postman who finally points out the square, ivy-covered house with no name on the gate, which the party had already passed twice. The house itself is unremarkable, a suburban retirement home with a tennis court where boys are playing, a deck-chair under a tree, and an old Scotch terrier scratching in the path.

The Confrontation with Doctor Baker

Doctor Baker, a medium-height man with a keen chin and sandy, greying hair, is dressed in flannels and a dark blue blazer, having been interrupted during a game of tennis. He is initially bewildered by the arrival of four strangers. Colonel Julyan apologizes for the intrusion and explains the purpose of their visit: they have found Baker's name and the telephone number of his old consulting rooms in Rebecca's diary, with an appointment at two o'clock on the day she died. Baker at first denies ever having attended a "Mrs de Winter," but when shown the diary page, he admits it is possible she used a false name. He agrees to consult his files, and after a few minutes, he returns with a large book and a file-case. He finds the record: a "Mrs Danvers" had an appointment on the twelfth at two o'clock. As he reads his own notes, the memory returns. He describes the woman as tall, slim, dark, and very handsome. He then delivers the crucial information: the woman who called herself Mrs Danvers was very seriously ill. She had come for X-rays a week prior, and on this second visit, she demanded the truth. Baker told her that the growth was deep-rooted and inoperable; in three or four months, she would have been under morphia. He also noted that the X-rays showed a malformation of the uterus, meaning she could never have had a child, though this was unrelated to the fatal disease.

The Collapse of Favell's Case

The revelation from Doctor Baker shatters the foundation of Jack Favell's accusation. The medical evidence provides a clear and powerful motive for suicide, rendering his theory of murder untenable. Favell, who had been confident and aggressive, is visibly shaken, his face turning grey and his hands trembling. He asks, with a pathetic concern for his own health, if cancer is contagious. The narrator observes that Favell's bluff has been called; he has no case left. Colonel Julyan immediately seizes the advantage, warning Favell that as a magistrate, he has the power to deal with blackmail in their part of the world. Favell, though he attempts a final, defiant smile and wave as the others drive away, is defeated. The visit to Barnet thus achieves its purpose: it provides the legal and moral closure that allows Maxim and the narrator to begin to look toward the future, even as the news of Mrs Danvers's mysterious disappearance casts a new, unsettling shadow over their return to Manderley.