# VII explained — The Mysteries of Udolpho

> Chapter companion for The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

## What happens

St. Aubert's health declines rapidly, and he delivers a final, heartfelt discourse to Emily on the dangers of excessive sensibility and the importance of fortitude and active virtue. He makes her promise to burn a packet of papers hidden beneath a loose board in his closet at La Vallée, without examining them, and reveals a hidden purse of gold.

## Themes in this chapter

### Virtue and Self-Command

St. Aubert's central lesson: fortitude and active virtue are more valuable than the 'grace of sensibility'; he warns against the pride of fine feeling.

### Grief and Melancholy

The chapter is saturated with the sorrow of impending death, as Emily and St. Aubert share a poignant farewell.

### The Supernatural and the Unknown

The secret closet and the mysterious packet of papers introduce an element of hidden knowledge and foreboding mystery.

## Character check-ins

### St. Aubert

Delivers his final advice to Emily, makes her promise to burn the hidden papers, and reveals the secret compartment in the closet.

### Emily St. Aubert

Receives her father's dying instructions and solemnly promises to burn the papers without reading them.

### La Voisin

Offers to accompany St. Aubert to Gascony and later assists when Emily faints.

## Key lines

> Above all, my dear Emily, do not indulge in the pride of fine feeling, the romantic error of amiable minds.

St. Aubert warns Emily against taking pride in her own sensitivity, calling it a romantic mistake that well-meaning people often make.

_This encapsulates the chapter's moral lesson on the dangers of sensibility._

> These papers you must burn—and, solemnly I command you, without examining them.

St. Aubert makes Emily promise to destroy the hidden documents without ever reading them.

_This introduces a central mystery and a binding vow that will affect Emily's future._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysteries_of_udolpho_se/chapters/vii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysteries_of_udolpho_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysteries_of_udolpho_se/chapters