Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mysteries of Udolpho, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marriage, Love, and Inheritance
The Wonders of Nature
Mystery and Superstition
Mortality
The Value of Education and Art
Summary
Analysis
When Montoni hears of Madame Montoni’s death, he makes no effort to hide his frustration about the fact that she never signed the papers giving him her property. Emily spends a lot of time in the chamber with Madame Montoni’s corpse, but Montoni avoids it. Annette eventually helps Emily prepare the corpse for interment. After burying Madame Montoni, Emily no longer has any living relatives.
Previously, Emily spent a lot of time with St. Aubert’s corpse, which at the time seemed to reflect an inability to let him go. Now, however, Emily’s willingness to spend time with Madame Montoni’s body, particularly when compared with Montoni’s total avoidance of the body, seems to suggest her own growing acceptance of mortality.
Themes
Emily spends several days all by herself. She eventually decides she must convince Montoni to let her go back to France. She doesn’t want to give away Madame Montoni’s estates, partly out of respect for her aunt’s memory and partly because she might need property if she ever marries Valancourt.
Although Emily is saddened by Madame Montoni’s death, it also seems to life a weight off her, finally allowing her to plan for the possibility of one day marrying Valancourt.
Themes
Montoni goes to see Emily and tries to flatter her as a generous person with good judgement. Emily can tell he’s trying to get Madame Montoni’s estates, and she says she has the law on her side. Montoni promises that if Emily doesn’t do what he wants, he’ll make her suffer.
Emily feels less obligation to Montoni than she did to Madame Montoni, and so after her aunt’s death, Emily begins to resist Montoni. This is a big shift for her, considering earlier, she blindly signed the papers and accidentally agreed to marry Count Morano.
Themes
Emily leaves for her chamber, feeling good about how she stood up to Montoni. From the terrace, she suddenly hears the sound of laughter. She realizes it’s Signora Livona, a woman she once had dinner with in Venice at Montoni’s. Annette explains that Livona is visiting with some of Montoni’s other old friends and associates from Venice.
The laughter that Emily hears with Montoni suggests that he is making little effort to even pretend he is mourning Madame Montoni. Once again, Montoni’s refusal to grieve suggests that he doesn’t want to have to confront any aspect of mortality.
Themes
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Emily listens to the voices of the new visitors from above and senses that Signora Livona and the other ladies don’t have good reputations. Emily walks around the castle and suddenly notices that someone is following her. She asks who it is, and a strange man introduces himself. Although he doesn’t talk in a threatening way, he grabs her and won’t let go. He is surprised that Emily doesn’t recognize him and tries to kiss her hand, but she pulls it away. She goes back to her room.
The strange man who claims to know Emily in this passage adds yet another layer of mystery to the story. The secret passageway into Emily’s room was an early sign that she had no privacy in Udolpho, and this man’s seeming familiarity with Emily, even though she doesn’t recognize him, seems to confirm this lack of privacy.
Themes
In her chamber, Emily waits for Annette, but she doesn’t come. That night, Emily hears the sweet sound of the music again, and she thinks it sounds oddly familiar. She listens for a while, and the song reminds her of the music of Gascony, so eventually she calls out directly to the musician to see if the song is indeed from Gascony. She doesn’t receive an answer.
Music always connects Emily to her home because it reminds her of the lessons she received from St. Aubert. But here the connection becomes even more explicit, as the songs of Gascony move Emily so much that she feels the need to call out to the musician.
Themes
