Melmoth the Wanderer · Chapter
XXIX explained
Don Francisco Aliaga, lost in a labyrinth of rocks, is guided by the mysterious stranger from the previous night.
What happens
Don Francisco Aliaga, lost in a labyrinth of rocks, is guided by the mysterious stranger from the previous night. The stranger, revealing his knowledge of England, begins to tell the tale of the Mortimer family and their history during the Reformation, all while Aliaga grows increasingly uneasy.
Themes in this chapter
Temptation and Faith
The stranger tempts Aliaga with knowledge and guidance, while Aliaga clings to Catholic orthodoxy.
Suffering and Oppression
The Mortimer servants suffer martyrdom for their Protestant faith during Mary's reign.
Supernatural and the Gothic
The stranger's eerie appearance, the mule's instinctive fear, and the vision of the corpse create a gothic atmosphere.
Characters to notice
- Don Fernan di Aliaga
Lost and guided by the stranger; listens to the tale of the Mortimers.
- Sir Roger Mortimer
Reformation-era ancestor who distributed Tyndale Bibles.
- Sir Edmund
Son of Sir Roger; witnessed servants burned at the stake.
Key passages
“Don Francisco rode on most of that day. The weather was mild, and his servants holding occasionally large umbrellas over him as he rode, rendered travelling supportable.”
Aliaga traveled comfortably under umbrellas held by servants.
Sets the scene for his journey.
“He immediately dispatched his attendants in various directions, to discover the track they were to pursue.”
He sent his servants to find the right path.
Aliaga becomes lost.
“We meet again, señor, said the stranger, with his peculiar smile, and fortunately for you, I trust.”
The stranger greets Aliaga, offering to guide him.
The mysterious figure reappears.
“Sir Roger Mortimer, the descendant of this powerful family, vigorously espoused the cause of the Reformers; and when the nobility and gentry of the neighbourhood sent their usual dole, at Christmas, of beef and ale to their tenants, Sir Roger, with his chaplain attending him, went about from cottage to cottage, distributing Bibles in English, of the edition printed by Tyndale in Holland.”
Sir Roger Mortimer distributed Tyndale Bibles to his tenants instead of traditional Christmas gifts.
Highlights the family's Protestant zeal.
“Two of their servants were burned at Shrewsbury; and it was said that nothing but a large sum, advanced to defray the expenses of the entertainments made at Court on the arrival of Philip of Spain, saved the godly Sir Edmund from the same fate.”
Two servants were martyred, and Sir Edmund only escaped execution by paying a bribe.
The cost of religious dissent under Mary.