The Mysteries of Udolpho

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1794

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Volume 1, Chapters 1-5

Volume 1, Chapters 6-13

Volume 2, Chapters 1-6

Volume 2, Chapters 7-12

Volume 3, Chapters 1-6

Volume 3, Chapters 7-13

Volume 4, Chapters 1-7

Volume 4, Chapters 8-12

Volume 4, Chapters 13-19

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

La Vallee, Udolpho, and the Chateau-La-Blanc

In The Mysteries of Udolpho, settings serve as symbols for different states of mind and embody specific characters. The three principal settings of La Vallee, Udolpho, and Chateau-La-Blanc are also imbued with different concepts of philosophy and aesthetics.

The first setting, La Vallee, is identified with St. Aubert and Emily and all the wisdom and virtues they represent. It is a place of beauty, education, and simplicity, an Eden-like idyll. Significantly, St. Aubert has not made great additions to the original structure of La Vallee and Madame St. Aubert has decorated the interiors with “chaste simplicity” (14). La Vallee is the place where St. Aubert imparts important life lessons to Emily. However, La Vallee may be too pristine an idyll, which cannot be sustained in its original form. Emily’s naivete must be imbued with real-world experience and fortitude. This is symbolized by the necessity of Emily traveling the hostile landscape of Udolpho in order to mature and grow.

Udolpho, described as “silent, lonely, and sublime” (347) symbolizes the physical and psychological danger Emily will soon face. The castle is also an example of the trope of the intimidating, dark castle of Gothic narratives. It is further identified with the character of Montoni. Like him, the castle is brooding and gloomy, dominates the landscape, and is associated with battles, warfare, and unsavory secrets. It also symbolizes the fear one feels of the foreign and the other. The Apennine mountains, in which Udolpho is situated, are described as less beautiful than the French Alps. The supernatural occurrences at Udolpho reflect Emily’s worsening terror in the hostile space.

The Chateau-La-Blanc, the third setting in which Emily finds herself, stands somewhere between La Vallee and Udolpho. Emily’s presence in Chateau-La-Blanc marks the point in her character-arc where she uses the lessons learned at Udolpho to navigate the complex, real world. Unlike La Vallee, Chateau-La-Blanc has been improved by its owners, and the Count, while friendly and paternal, is slightly more domineering than the gentle St. Aubert, such as when he pressures Emily to marry Du Pont. Emily continues to fear the supernatural in Chateau-La-Blanc, which symbolizes her continuing discomfort. It is only when she regains possession of La Vallee, the ideal setting, that Emily’s journey is complete. Emily can now inhabit La Vallee from a place of wise purity rather than naivete.

Music

Music is an important and ubiquitous motif in The Mysteries of Udolpho. Emily hears mysterious music in the very first chapter, and scenes of music being played are frequently described throughout the narrative. Radcliffe uses music to evoke two distinct atmospheres: one is the pastoral and the idyllic, with music tied up with a rustic, pure way of living. In Chapter 1, St. Aubert is described as listening to the music of the Garonne River, its natural rhythm evoking the beauty of nature. Emily loves to play the lute in the idyllic environment of La Vallee, and in Chapter 4, the musical chant of the monks at a chapel makes her feel like her soul is ascending to heaven. In Volume 4, Count de Villefort is described as loving the music of peasants dancing “with castanets in their hands, to the sounds of a lute and a tambourine” (904). In all these instances, music is associated with the wonder and beauty of nature.

Music is also associated with the mysterious and the supernatural in the text. Radcliffe uses music to heighten the suspense in the narrative. Emily first hears mysterious music near the fishing-house at La Vallee. Mysterious music follows her to the woods of Languedoc, and later to Udolpho. When Emily and St. Aubert hear the disembodied music in the forest, a peasant tells them that though people have followed the sound to trace its source, “the music has still retreated, and seems as distant as ever” (113). Later, when Emily hears the music at Udolpho, “a superstitious dread stole over her” (501), quickly replaced by a sense of curiosity about “such soothing and delicious sounds” (501). Here, music is also associated with wonder, curiosity, and hope, helping to illustrate a character’s state of mind.

The Baron’s Tale

The Baron’s Tale is the story that Ludovico reads when he is keeping watch in the haunted chambers of the Marchioness. The story is recounted in detail in the text and serves as a symbol or allegory for facing one’s fears. Just as Emily must face her fear of the supernatural and seek the truth behind it, the baron in the story must face a literal ghost and lay it to rest. In the story, a sorrowful knight arrives at the baron’s court and bids him to follow him so he can show him a “terrible secret” (836). This baron is fearful but follows the knight. In The Mysteries of Udolpho, Emily too makes crucial journeys despite her fear of the dark and menacing shadows. She courageously follows Barnardine out of empathy for her aunt and makes the terrifying journey away from Udolpho with Annette and Ludovico.

The terrible secret the knight is harboring is his own corpse. The knight entreats the baron to avenge him and lay his corpse to rest. In the context of the main narrative, this suggests that the ghosts of the past must be laid to rest for Emily, Valancourt, and the others to move on. For Emily, this means letting go of her superstitions about Signora Laurentini and the Marchioness de Villeroi. For Valancourt, it is repenting his former vices and making penance for them. The baron in the story buries the knight with honors, which foreshadows the burial of Sister Agnes. With her corpse laid to rest, the mysteries of Udolpho are finally solved: Events come full circle and Emily can move ahead.