The Mysteries of Udolpho

The narrative briefly shifts to Morano, who has been arrested in Venice. After Morano attempted to poison him, Montoni wanted his revenge. Montoni had an anonymous letter sent to the authorities tipping them off about Morano conspiring against the state.

The siege at Udolpho ends and Montoni sends for Emily. Bertrand and Ugo bring her back from Tuscany, again scaring her with frightening stories on the way. The Castle di Udolpho seems silent and deserted when Emily reaches there. On her way to her room, she overhears Montoni, Verezzi, and Bertolini talking about her. Montoni tells the men they can find her in her rooms. Emily hides from the men till she meets Annette.

Montoni resumes threatening Emily over the papers. He suggests he will not protect her from Verezzi unless she signs the papers. On the other hand, she can return to France immediately if she signs away her rights. Feeling mortally threatened, Emily signs the papers with great reluctance. Emily asks Montoni to send her back as she has held her end of the bargain. She fears staying in Udolpho any longer because of Verezzi and Bertolini’s threats. Montoni reveals he never planned to send Emily away till the estates have been fully secured. He has her returned to her rooms, promising he will protect her from his friends.

Emily’s only hope is the mysterious music from Gascony, which she hears again. She thinks this may be Valancourt in the dungeon.

Emily passes many days in suspense, with Ludovico and Annette trying to determine if there is indeed a prisoner in the castle’s dungeons. Ludovico brings back the news that there is a man in the dungeons, who claims he knows Emily. The man has given Ludovico a bracelet with Emily’s miniature portrait inside; this is the same bracelet that Madame St. Aubert lost. Emily is overjoyed, believing the man to be none other than Valancourt. She asks Ludovico to arrange a meeting. Montoni has lost huge sums of money to Verezzi, and Emily fears her step-uncle means to offer her to Verezzi in return. Unbeknownst to Emily, he had previously made and retracted such an offer to Bertolini as well, which now causes the men to squabble.

Emily meets the stranger and is shocked to discover he is not Valancourt. It is a Frenchman called Du Pont, who has long been in love with her. Du Pont has been obsessed with Emily since she lived in La Vallee; it was he who played the music near the fishing house and wrote her the sonnet. He has ended up in Udolpho’s dungeons because of complicated circumstances. Just as Du Pont is about to say more, Verezzi charges in to attack him. Du Pont defeats Verezzi in a duel. Emily entreats Du Pont to leave the castle, but he refuses to let her stay there unprotected.

Ludovico, Annette, and Emily flee from Udolpho on horses they steal from the soldiers. One of the horses carries a bag full of robbed money, which allows the group to secure passage on a ship to France. Du Pont tells Emily he was the mysterious figure she and the watchmen saw on the castle’s ramparts. The mysterious voice and groans were also Du Pont. Du Pont traveled the castle through a series of passages concealed between the walls. Emily decides to live in the convent at Languedoc since La Vallee may not be hers anymore.

The narrative shifts to the beginning of 1584, months before the death of St. Aubert. The supposedly haunted chateau in Languedoc, which Emily and her father were warned against, is inherited by Count de Villefort, a relative of the Villerois. Since then, Count de Villefort has had the estate—called the Chateau-La-Blanc—restored. His wife, the Countess de Villefort, and his children from a previous marriage, Blanche and Henri, arrive at the restored chateau and meet the place’s old caretaker, Dorothee. Blanche used to be in a convent. Blanche loves taking walks around the estate, but the countess dislikes Chateau-La-Blanc. Dorothee shows Blanche the suite of rooms in which the Marchioness de Villeroi died.

Moved by the beauty of Languedoc, Blanche composes a poem. The Villeforts shelter indoors from a storm when they hear the sounds of gunshots—possibly a sign of distress from an incoming ship. The ship docks in the bay below. The count orders that the ship’s passengers be escorted to his chateau safely. The passengers turn out to be Emily, Du Pont, Annette, and Ludovico. Du Pont and the count turn out to be old acquaintances. Emily wants to go to the convent immediately, but the count asks her to rest at the chateau for the night.

On Blanche’s request, the count convinces Emily to stay at the chateau instead of the convent. Emily and Blanche become good friends, bonding over their love of nature. When Emily realizes the chateau is the same mysterious house she and her father had heard of, she asks Dorothee about the mysterious music in the woods. Dorothee says the music has been heard in the woods for many years and may be ghostly. Emily assures her that all old castles appear haunted, but the phenomenon can usually later be rationally explained, as happened at Udolpho.

Blanche is eager to know about the locked rooms in which the Marchioness died, but Dorothee refuses to speak on the subject. Dorothy notes that Emily looks just like the late Marchioness. A few weeks later, Emily leaves the chateau for the convent since she does not want to further torment the lovesick Du Pont. She promises the count she will visit very frequently. At the convent, she gets a letter from the Quesnels. M. Quesnel reproaches her for rejecting Count Morano and suggests she stay on at the convent. 

Emily visits Blanche at Chateau-La-Blanc. Struck again by Emily’s resemblance to the Marchioness, Dorothee tells Emily she will tell her about her late lady when the time is right. Emily goes for a solitary walk in the woods, where she runs into Valancourt, accompanied by Henri. Emily and Valancourt reunite. Emily recounts her troubles with Montoni, which greatly moves Valancourt. Valancourt tells Emily he has become unworthy of her. Before Valancourt can tell her what he means, Blanche approaches. Emily introduces Valancourt to the count and his family.

The next day, the count tells Emily that Valancourt is not worthy of her favor. The count and Henri have known Valancourt in Paris, where the young man has a bad reputation. He cheats at cards and has gambled away all his money. Moreover, Valancourt has other vices: He has been jailed twice in Paris, and bailed out by a Parisian Countess, with whom he lives. Emily is so distressed by this information that she faints. When she revives, Valancourt attends to her. Emily tells Valancourt that she is too upset to see him today but will talk to him tomorrow.