# XXV explained — Melmoth the Wanderer

> Chapter companion for Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin.

## What happens

Don Francisco di Aliaga, traveling homeward, stops at a wretched inn where he learns of Melmoth the Wanderer from the innkeeper and a mysterious stranger. The stranger offers to relate a collection of facts about the Wanderer, and they retire to a stormy upper room where the narrative begins.

## Themes in this chapter

### Supernatural and the Gothic

The chapter introduces Melmoth the Wanderer as a mysterious, possibly supernatural figure, and the stormy inn setting evokes Gothic atmosphere.

### Knowledge and Curiosity

Don Francisco's curiosity about the Wanderer drives the narrative, and the stranger's manuscript represents forbidden knowledge.

## Character check-ins

### Don Fernan di Aliaga

Don Francisco di Aliaga, the father of Isidora, is journeying homeward, reflecting on his wealth and status, when he encounters talk of Melmoth the Wanderer at an inn.

### Juan di Monçada

The stranger at the inn who is preparing a collection of facts about Melmoth the Wanderer; he offers to relate his knowledge to Don Francisco.

### Don Gregorio Montilla

Mentioned as having left Don Francisco to visit his father, not present in the chapter.

## Key lines

> Τηλε μ’ ειργουσι ψυχαι, ειδωλα καμοντων.

The souls of the dead keep me far away.

_Epigraph from Homer, setting a tone of separation and the supernatural._

> I would not suffer him to pass an hour under my roof for the revenues of Toledo.

I would not let him stay even for an hour, not for all the wealth of Toledo.

_The innkeeper's extreme fear of Melmoth the Wanderer._

> It sounds like the chidings of the spirits, that their secrets are disclosed!

The thunder sounds as if the spirits are angry that their secrets are being revealed.

_The stranger comments on the storm as the narrative begins._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/melmoth_the_wanderer_se/chapters/xxv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/melmoth_the_wanderer_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/melmoth_the_wanderer_se/chapters