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
In the light of the morning, Emily is surprised to see how beautiful the area around the Tuscan cottage is. Ugo leaves the cottage, although Bertrand stays behind, apparently to watch her. When she asks for permission to go for a walk in the nearby woods, he refuses her permission to leave the cottage.
Being outside of the gloomy castle of Udolpho reminds Emily why she loves nature so much, but Bertrand’s strict watch over her shows how she can’t escape Montoni’s influence even in such a rural location.
Themes
Emily learns from Marco’s daughter, Maddelina, that Marco obtained this cottage by doing a favor for Montoni. Emily asks Maddelina if she knows anything about the disappearance of Signora Laurentini, and Maddelina says it must have happened about 18 years ago, right before her father moved to the cottage. Emily suspects Marco played a role in her disappearance.
Although Marco’s cottage is idyllic, this passage implies that Emily thinks Marco may have played a role in assassinating Signora Laurentini (if in fact she’s really dead and not simply disappeared). Emily learns that even beautiful areas like this cottage can hold secrets.
Themes
Emily spends her day reading and thinking again of Valancourt. That evening, Maddelina comes to her in secret. She brings food, since she knows Emily wasn’t allowed to go to supper. The two of them continue to meet over the next few days, while Emily is mostly stuck in her room.
In many ways Maddelina lives a life like Emily used to back when she lived at La Vallée with her parents. Even in difficult moments, Emily’s good nature continues to attract like-minded allies like Annette and Maddelina, showing the benefits of her compassion and selflessness.
Themes
One day, Emily is surprised to hear music, including a song about a sea nymph, and Maddelina explains that a festival is going on nearby. Emily gets to go outside briefly. The dancers at the festival invite her to join in, but she feels too melancholy to dance. From then on, Emily is allowed to go out sometimes with Maddelina, but Bertrand is also always watching. More time passes at the cottage until all of a sudden one day, Emily realizes she doesn’t have the important papers that Madame Montoni ordered her to always keep.
Out of sight of Montoni, Emily slowly begins to get more freedom. But unlike Montoni, who was drinking and celebrating shortly after Madame Montoni’s death, Emily still refuses to participate in joyous activities like dancing. This reflects again how Emily continues to think about her sorrows and face them directly, unlike Montoni who avoids them.
Themes
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