Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate, leading to the drive and for a while I could not enter, the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate. I called in my dream to the lodge-keeper, and had no answer, and peering closer through the rusted spokes of the gate, I saw that the lodge was uninhabited.
Daphne DuMauier
We are a family that has always been very close in spirit. Our father was drowned in a sailing accident when we were young, and our mother had always stressed the fact that our familial relationships have a kind of permanence that we will never meet with again. I don't think about the family much, but when I remember its members and the coast where they lived and the sea salt that I think is in our blood, I am happy to recall that I am a Pommerory--that I have the nose, the coloring, and the promise of longevity--and that while we are not a distinguished family, we enjoy the illusion, when we are together, that the Pommeroys are unique...
John Cheever
It isn't until several days after the accident that Lottie lets herself--makes herself--think about it. Think about how it was for all of them, for Cameron and Elizabeth, and for Jessica.
What she imagines is that Cameron must have been certain, right up until the moment he turned the car into the driveway, that he could get control again, that he could win Elizabeth back.
Sue Miller
