XXXVI explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• The Sublime and Landscape

  The chapter vividly portrays the sublime power of the storm over the Mediterranean, contrasting with the serene beauty of the pavilion and woods.

• Love and Separation

  Emily's anxious thoughts about Valancourt highlight the theme of love enduring across distance and time.

• Female Agency and Vulnerability

  Blanche's active observation and emotional response to the storm-tossed vessel illustrate both her agency and vulnerability.

Characters to notice

• Emily St. Aubert

  Returns to France, experiences joy and anxiety about Valancourt, and determines to write to him.

• Valancourt

  Emily's beloved, whose fate and constancy she anxiously contemplates.

• Blanche

  Enjoys the excursion and later watches the storm-tossed vessel with concern.

• Count De Villefort

  Leads the family excursion and responds to the distress signals from the vessel.

• Countess De Villefort

  Participates in the excursion, shows some restraint, and plans to refurbish the pavilion.

• Henri

  Accompanies the family on the excursion and to the monastery.

Key passages

• “ascended to my Lady’s chamber, who sent to enquire what occasioned so much uproar in the château, and to command silence.”

  The lady of the house sent a servant to find out the cause of the noise and to order quiet.

  The Countess asserts her authority over the household disturbance.

• “She determined to inform him, on the following day, of her arrival in France, which it was scarcely possible he could know but by a letter from herself, and, after soothing her spirits with the hope of soon hearing, that he was well, and unchanged in his affections, she, at length, sunk to repose.”

  Emily resolved to write to Valancourt the next day to tell him she was back in France, and this hope calmed her enough to finally fall asleep.

  Emily's plan to contact Valancourt reflects her deep love and anxiety about their relationship.

• “Blanche loved to see the dipping oars imprint the water, and to watch the spreading circles they left, which gave a tremulous motion to the reflected landscape, without destroying the harmony of its features.”

  Blanche enjoyed watching the oars dip into the water and the ripples that gently disturbed the mirrored scenery without ruining its beauty.

  Blanche's appreciation of nature's delicate balance highlights her sensitivity.

• “Blanche, for some time, anxiously watched the progress of the bark, as it threw the waves in foam around it, and, as the lightnings flashed, looked to the opening heavens, with many a sigh for the fate of the poor mariners.”

  Blanche watched the ship struggling in the storm, sighing with concern for the sailors as lightning lit up the sky.

  Blanche's empathy for the mariners underscores her compassionate nature.