Rebecca; Imagery

From the first page of the book Rebecca, the author uses an overwhelming amount of imagery to "enhance" the plot line. But at many points it seemed to drone on and on. The author uses about the first 30 pages to create an image of Manderley in the readers mind. The reader gets the picture, understanding the "hauntingness" of Manderley. The "echoing" and dark hallways lead you to think that "oh, something bad is going to happen". And, what a surprise. IT does. The way that the author uses imagery makes the plot somewhat predictable.
Nature reflects onto the characters moods. For example, if the author says "thunder rumbled through the valley and gray clouds covered the sky", the characters would be in a time of peril or argument. Mainly the author uses imagery to convey the influence of Manderley(the house where Rebecca lived). This helps the reader understand what it would be like to be a stranger going to this new place.