The Mysteries of Udolpho · Chapter
Chapter XLIII explained
Emily's terror from the previous night spreads among the servants, who claim the north side of the castle is haunted.
What happens
Emily's terror from the previous night spreads among the servants, who claim the north side of the castle is haunted. The Count dismisses the rumors but forbids further discussion. A party of friends arrives, including the Chevalier St. Foix, who renews his suit for Lady Blanche and is accepted. Festivities and concerts ensue, but Emily remains melancholy. She often walks alone in the woods, especially near a watchtower overlooking the sea, where she hears mysterious music and sees a figure. Later, a maid faints after claiming to have seen an apparition on the stairs, and Dorothée recounts past supernatural occurrences. The servants' terror grows, and several threaten to leave.
Themes in this chapter
The Supernatural and the Unknown
The chapter is saturated with supernatural elements: the servants' ghost stories, the maid's vision of an apparition, the mysterious music and figure Emily encounters, and Dorothée's tales of former times.
Grief and Melancholy
Emily's spirits are oppressed with melancholy; she finds solace in solitary walks and pensive reflection, and the concerts only deepen her sadness.
The Sublime and Landscape
The description of the woods, the Mediterranean view, the ruined watchtower, and Emily's 'Song of the Evening Hour' emphasize the sublime beauty and grandeur of nature.
Characters to notice
- Emily St. Aubert
Emily is deeply melancholy, haunted by recent terrors, and seeks solitude in the woods and watchtower, where she hears mysterious music and sees a figure.
- Annette
Annette spreads stories of the supernatural from Udolpho, including the disappearance of Signora Laurentini, but is checked by Ludovico when she speaks of Montoni.
- Ludovico
Ludovico, now in the Count's service, prudently checks Annette's loquacity regarding Montoni.
- Blanche
Blanche is the object of the Chevalier St. Foix's affection; their match is approved by her father, and she does not reject his suit.
- St. Foix
The Chevalier St. Foix, a sensible and amiable young man, renews his suit for Lady Blanche and is accepted.
- Dorothée
Dorothée stays with Emily after the maid's fright, recounting past supernatural occurrences and confirming her own superstitions.
Key passages
“Hail, mildly-pleasing Solitude! Companion of the wise and good! Thine is the balmy breath of morn, Just as the dew-bent rose is born. But chief when evening scenes decay And the faint landscape swims away, Thine is the doubtful, soft decline, And that best hour of musing thine.”
The chapter opens with a poetic invocation to Solitude, praising it as a gentle companion to the wise, especially in the quiet of evening.
This epigraph from Thomson sets the reflective, melancholic tone for the chapter.
“Emily’s injunctions to Annette to be silent on the subject of her terror were ineffectual, and the occurrence of the preceding night spread such alarm among the servants, who now all affirmed, that they had frequently heard unaccountable noises in the château, that a report soon reached the Count of the north side of the castle being haunted.”
Despite Emily's request for silence, Annette's talk of the previous night's terror spreads among the servants, who claim to have heard strange noises, leading to a rumor that the north side of the castle is haunted.
This shows how quickly superstition spreads and the Count's initial attempt to dismiss it.
“She was particularly fond of walking in the woods, that hung on a promontory, overlooking the sea. Their luxuriant shade was soothing to her pensive mind, and, in the partial views, which they afforded of the Mediterranean, with its winding shores and passing sails, tranquil beauty was united with grandeur.”
Emily loves to walk in the woods on a promontory above the sea, where the shade soothes her melancholy and the views of the Mediterranean combine calm beauty with majesty.
This highlights Emily's connection to the sublime landscape as a refuge from her grief.
“One evening, she lingered here to a late hour. She had sat on the steps of the building, watching, in tranquil melancholy, the gradual effect of evening over the extensive prospect...”
One evening, Emily stays late at the watchtower, observing the peaceful melancholy of the fading daylight over the wide landscape.
This leads to her composition of the 'Song of the Evening Hour' and her encounter with the mysterious sounds and figure.
“The girl, springing down the stairs and passing up the great staircase, had run, with a faint scream, till she reached the gallery, where she fell, groaning, at Emily’s door.”
The frightened maid, after seeing the apparition, runs up the stairs and collapses groaning at Emily's door.
This incident escalates the supernatural terror among the household.
