The Mysteries of Udolpho · Chapter
Chapter L explained
Count De Villefort, Lady Blanche, and M.
What happens
Count De Villefort, Lady Blanche, and M. St. Foix journey through the Pyrenees toward La Vallée, encountering a group of dancing peasants, then seeking shelter at a remote fort inhabited by hunters who may be more than they seem.
Themes in this chapter
The Sublime and Landscape
The chapter vividly describes the Pyrenean scenery, twilight effects, and the emotional response of the characters to the wild mountains.
The Supernatural and the Unknown
The gathering darkness, mysterious figures, and the fort's ambiguous atmosphere evoke a sense of the unknown and potential danger.
Characters to notice
- Count De Villefort
Leads his family and St. Foix through the Pyrenees, showing concern for safety and growing suspicion of the fort's inhabitants.
- Blanche
Travels with her father, experiencing awe and apprehension at the mountain scenery, and shares tender moments with St. Foix.
- St. Foix
Accompanies the Count and Blanche, conversing with her about love and scenery, and is observed closely by a stranger at the fort.
Key passages
“Light thickens, and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood: Good things of day begin to droop, and drowse; While night's black agents to their preys do rouse.”
Darkness deepens as crows fly to the forest; daytime fades and night's evil forces stir to hunt.
Epigraph from Macbeth sets a foreboding tone for the chapter.
“The Count, comparing this with the scenes of such gaiety as he had witnessed at Paris, where false taste painted the features, and, while it vainly tried to supply the glow of nature, concealed the charms of animation—where affectation so often distorted the air, and vice perverted the manners—sighed to think, that natural graces and innocent pleasures flourished in the wilds of solitude, while they drooped amidst the concourse of polished society.”
The Count contrasts the simple, genuine joy of the mountain dancers with the artificial and corrupt pleasures of Parisian society, lamenting that innocence thrives in solitude but withers in civilization.
Reflects the theme of virtue and natural simplicity versus societal corruption.
“To a warm imagination, the dubious forms, that float, half veiled in darkness, afford a higher delight, than the most distinct scenery, that the sun can show.”
For a vivid imagination, indistinct shapes in the dark are more pleasurable than clear daylight scenes.
Highlights the Romantic appreciation for mystery and the sublime.