# Chapter XXVII explained — The Mysteries of Udolpho > Chapter companion for The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. ## What happens Emily, recovering from the previous night's ordeal, requests to speak with Montoni about returning to France after her aunt's death. Annette recounts how she foiled Barnardine's plot to abduct Emily for Count Morano. That night, Emily watches at her casement and sees a mysterious figure on the rampart, hears mournful sounds, and is left uncertain whether it is a supernatural presence or a captive. ## Themes in this chapter ### Oppression and Imprisonment Emily is physically confined within Udolpho and psychologically oppressed by Montoni's tyranny and the threat of abduction by Count Morano. ### The Supernatural and the Unknown Emily's encounter with the mysterious figure on the rampart and the mournful sounds at midnight evoke supernatural dread and uncertainty. ### Grief and Melancholy Emily's solemn tranquillity and absorption in thought reflect her deep grief over her aunt's death and the cumulative suffering she has endured. ## Character check-ins ### Emily St. Aubert Emily is recovering from the shock of the abduction attempt and her aunt's death; she seeks an audience with Montoni to request permission to return to La Vallée. ### Annette Annette recounts how she secretly followed Emily and Barnardine, then alerted Montoni and Cavigni to thwart Count Morano's second abduction scheme. ### Montoni Montoni postpones Emily's requested interview, and is preparing his men for another expedition; he suspects Count Morano of the earlier poison attempt. ### Count Morano Count Morano is the instigator of the failed abduction plot; he had bribed Barnardine and the porter to decoy Emily to the gates. ### Barnardine Barnardine is the treacherous servant who conspired with Count Morano to abduct Emily, but his plan was foiled by Annette's intervention. ## Key lines > The professions of repentance, which Morano had made to Emily, under the anguish of his wound, was sincere at the moment he offered them; but he had mistaken the subject of his sorrow, for, while he thought he was condemning the cruelty of his late design, he was lamenting only the state of suffering, to which it had reduced him. Morano's apology to Emily while he was in pain was genuine at the time, but he was actually sorry for his own suffering rather than for his cruel plan. _This reveals Morano's selfish nature and his tendency to mistake self-pity for genuine remorse._ > Emily's mind was refreshed by sleep. On waking in the morning, she looked with surprise on Annette, who sat sleeping in a chair beside the bed, and then endeavoured to recollect herself; but the circumstances of the preceding night were swept from her memory, which seemed to retain no trace of what had passed. Emily woke feeling rested but confused, unable to remember the events of the previous night, and was surprised to find Annette asleep in a chair by her bed. _This illustrates Emily's psychological exhaustion and the way trauma can temporarily erase memory._ > The influence of superstition now gained on the weakness of her long-harassed mind; she looked, with enthusiastic expectation, to the guardian spirit of her father, and, having dismissed Annette for the night, determined to watch alone for their return. Superstition took hold of Emily's weary mind, and she eagerly hoped to see her father's ghost, so she sent Annette away and stayed up alone to wait for it. _Emily's turn to superstition highlights her vulnerability and her longing for comfort from beyond the grave._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysteries_of_udolpho_se/chapters/xxvii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysteries_of_udolpho_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_mysteries_of_udolpho_se/chapters