The Mysteries of Udolpho · Chapter
Chapter II explained
After Madame St.
What happens
After Madame St. Aubert's funeral, St. Aubert counsels Emily on self-command and the dangers of excessive grief. He dismisses most of his servants to save money for a prescribed journey to Languedoc and Provence. Late one night, Emily discovers her father secretly weeping over a miniature portrait of a lady who is not her mother, revealing a hidden sorrow.
Themes in this chapter
Grief and Melancholy
The chapter opens with the funeral of Madame St. Aubert and explores both Emily's and St. Aubert's grief, including St. Aubert's secret sorrow over a hidden portrait.
Virtue and Self-Command
St. Aubert delivers a lengthy discourse on the importance of controlling grief and maintaining virtue, urging Emily to practice self-command.
The Supernatural and the Unknown
Emily's secret observation of her father's mysterious behavior with a hidden portrait introduces an element of the unknown and foreshadows hidden secrets.
Characters to notice
- Emily St. Aubert
Grieves for her mother, receives her father's advice on self-command, and secretly observes him with a mysterious portrait.
- St. Aubert
Leads family prayers after the funeral, counsels Emily on controlling grief, dismisses servants for economy, and is later discovered weeping over a hidden miniature portrait.
- Madame St. Aubert
Recently deceased; her funeral and burial are described, and her loss deeply affects both St. Aubert and Emily.
- Theresa
The old housekeeper, the only servant retained after St. Aubert dismisses the others.
- Monsieur Barreaux
An austere neighbor who comes to condole with St. Aubert; they share a taste for botany.
Key passages
“I have endeavoured to teach you, from your earliest youth, the duty of self-command; I have pointed out to you the great importance of it through life, not only as it preserves us in the various and dangerous temptations that call us from rectitude and virtue, but as it limits the indulgences which are termed virtuous, yet which, extended beyond a certain boundary, are vicious, for their consequence is evil.”
St. Aubert reminds Emily that self-command is essential for resisting temptation and for keeping virtuous feelings within healthy limits, since even sorrow can become harmful if indulged excessively.
St. Aubert's moral instruction on the balance between feeling and reason.
“She never knew till now that he had a picture of any other lady than her mother, much less that he had one which he evidently valued so highly; but having looked repeatedly, to be certain that it was not the resemblance of Madame St. Aubert, she became entirely convinced that it was designed for that of some other person.”
Emily is shocked to discover that her father secretly treasures a miniature portrait of a woman who is not her mother, revealing a hidden aspect of his past.
The discovery of St. Aubert's secret portrait introduces mystery and foreshadows family secrets.