Jack Favell
Jack Favell, Rebecca de Winter's first cousin and secret lover, is the novel's most unambiguously villainous figure — a coarse, drunken, and predatory blackmailer whose appearance at Manderley shatters the narrator's illusions about Rebecca and nearly brings Maxim to ruin. He embodies the corruption that Rebecca concealed beneath her brilliant surface, and his relentless pursuit of money and pleasure makes him the living proof that Rebecca's world was not one of glamour but of degradation.
Identity and Background
Favell is Rebecca's first cousin, and Beatrice Lacy, Maxim's sister, describes him as "an awful bounder" whom she met once, long ago. He was brought up alongside Rebecca, and Mrs Danvers, who cared for Rebecca as a child, recalls that they were "a pair" — wild, spirited, and utterly undisciplined. Favell was sent into the Navy but could not stand the discipline, having "too much spirit to obey orders." He is a heavy drinker, with "hot, blue eyes usually associated with heavy drinking and loose living," a florid complexion, and a mouth that is "too soft, too pink." He drives a green sports car and carries himself with a swaggering, offensive familiarity. He calls Maxim "Max" — a liberty no one else takes — and treats Manderley as though it were his own territory.
Relationship with Rebecca and Mrs Danvers
Favell was Rebecca's lover for years, conducting clandestine meetings at the cottage on the beach in the cove. Mrs Danvers, who adored Rebecca, confirms that Rebecca "was not in love with you, or with Mr de Winter. She was not in love with anyone. She despised all men. Love-making was a game with her, only a game." Favell, however, believed himself indispensable to Rebecca and later claims, falsely, that he was her "prospective husband." He maintains a close alliance with Mrs Danvers, visiting her at Manderley when Maxim is away. On the day Maxim goes to London, Favell drives to Manderley, parks his car hidden behind the rhododendrons, and slips into the west wing to meet Mrs Danvers. When the narrator discovers them, Favell bluffs his way out with a familiar, offensive manner, asking her not to tell Maxim — a request that reveals his awareness that he is forbidden on the estate.
Confrontation and Blackmail
After the inquest into Rebecca's death returns a verdict of suicide, Favell appears at Manderley, drunk and aggressive, and attempts to blackmail Maxim. He produces a note from Rebecca written on the day she died — "I've got something to tell you, and I want to see you as soon as possible" — and threatens to use it to prove that Rebecca did not kill herself. He accuses Maxim of murder, declaring, "Rebecca was murdered. And if you want to know who the murderer is, why there he stands." He demands a settlement of two or three thousand a year for life in exchange for his silence. Maxim refuses, telephones Colonel Julyan, the local magistrate, and forces a confrontation. Favell then tries to produce Ben, the mentally disabled man who frequents the beach, as a witness, but Ben, terrified, denies ever seeing Favell. Colonel Julyan dismisses Favell's case as baseless blackmail.
Defeat and Aftermath
When the party travels to consult Doctor Baker, the London specialist Rebecca visited on the day she died, Favell accompanies them, still hoping to prove murder. But Baker reveals that Rebecca was terminally ill with cancer — a deep-rooted growth that would have killed her within months. Favell is visibly shaken; his face goes grey, and he mutters, "Cancer! Oh, my God!" He realises that the motive for suicide is now established and that his blackmail attempt has collapsed. Colonel Julyan warns him to stay away from Kerrith and the district, threatening to use his powers as a magistrate. Favell, defeated, waves and laughs as the de Winters drive away, but his threat is spent. He telephones Mrs Danvers with the news, and she disappears from Manderley that same evening. Favell is the last remnant of Rebecca's destructive world, and once he is neutralised, the de Winters are finally free — though the cost has been the complete revelation of the truth.
Narrative Role and Thematic Significance
Favell functions as the novel's most overt antagonist after Rebecca's death, a walking embodiment of the sordid reality that Rebecca's charm concealed. He is a flat character in Forster's sense — built around a single idea of predatory self-interest — but his presence is essential to the plot's resolution. His blackmail attempt forces Maxim to confess the truth to the narrator, and his defeat clears the way for the couple's reconciliation. Thematically, Favell represents the inescapable ugliness of the past: he cannot be reasoned with or appeased, only confronted and exposed. His final laugh, as the de Winters drive away, is hollow — the laugh of a man who has lost his only leverage — but it also echoes Rebecca's own triumphant laughter in death, a reminder that even in defeat, the forces of corruption do not go quietly.
