The Mysteries of Udolpho · Chapter
Chapter LVII explained
The marriages of Blanche and Emily are celebrated at Château-le-Blanc with baronial splendor.
What happens
The marriages of Blanche and Emily are celebrated at Château-le-Blanc with baronial splendor. After the festivities, Valancourt and Emily return to La Vallée, where they are joyfully received by Theresa. They revisit the plane-tree on the terrace, the site of Valancourt's first declaration of love, and vow to imitate St. Aubert's benevolence. Valancourt's brother visits, approves of Emily, and resigns part of his domain to them. Emily purchases her father's estate from Quesnel, settles Annette and Ludovico as housekeeper and steward, and the couple resides at La Vallée, spending a few months yearly at Epourville in memory of St. Aubert. Emily resigns Laurentini's legacy to Mons. Bonnac, and the castle of Udolpho descends to his wife, restoring peace and comfort to his family.
Themes in this chapter
Virtue and Self-Command
Emily and Valancourt vow to imitate St. Aubert's benevolence and to live lives of moral and intellectual improvement.
Love and Separation
The chapter celebrates the reunion and marriage of Emily and Valancourt after their long separation and suffering.
Avarice and Corruption
The contrast between the oppression of the vicious and the final triumph of innocence underscores the transient power of corruption.
Characters to notice
- Emily St. Aubert
Married to Valancourt; returns to La Vallée; purchases her father's estate; resigns legacy to Mons. Bonnac.
- Valancourt
Married to Emily; returns to La Vallée; receives part of his brother's domain.
- Blanche
Married on the same day as Emily at Château-le-Blanc.
- Annette
Given a marriage portion and settled as housekeeper at Epourville.
- Ludovico
Settled as steward at Epourville.
- Theresa
Receives Valancourt and Emily with joy at La Vallée.
Key passages
“O! how joyful it is to tell of happiness, such as that of Valancourt and Emily; to relate, that, after suffering under the oppression of the vicious and the disdain of the weak, they were, at length, restored to each other—to the beloved landscapes of their native country—to the securest felicity of this life, that of aspiring to moral and labouring for intellectual improvement—to the pleasures of enlightened society, and to the exercise of the benevolence, which had always animated their hearts; while the bowers of La Vallée became, once more, the retreat of goodness, wisdom and domestic blessedness!”
It is a joy to recount that Valancourt and Emily, after enduring oppression and disdain, are finally reunited and return to their beloved home, where they pursue moral and intellectual growth, enjoy society, and practice benevolence, making La Vallée a haven of goodness and domestic happiness.
The narrator celebrates the happy resolution of the protagonists' trials.
“O! useful may it be to have shown, that, though the vicious can sometimes pour affliction upon the good, their power is transient and their punishment certain; and that innocence, though oppressed by injustice, shall, supported by patience, finally triumph over misfortune!”
The story demonstrates that while the wicked may cause suffering, their power is temporary and they will be punished, while innocence, even when unjustly oppressed, will ultimately prevail through patience.
The moral lesson of the novel is explicitly stated.