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Volume 3, Chapter 2
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
The next day, Montoni once again comes up with an excuse not to see Emily. She learns from Annette that Montoni has been busy leading a group of bandits out to plunder the nearby area. In fact, the men aren’t dedicated bandits but are instead former soldiers, who, after the fighting was over, sometimes formed mutually beneficial alliances with local leaders that allowed them to plunder and get into skirmishes with other small territories.
This passage reveals that Montoni’s refusal to meet with Emily may have less to do with Madame Montoni’s condition and more to do with his usual greed. He seems to place more importance on leading expeditions of bandits than on interacting with his family, once again showing how selfish his values are.
Themes
At midnight that night, Emily stays awake to look and listen, but nothing happens. The next day, Montoni doesn’t even acknowledge that he was supposed to meet Emily. Emily is insistent, sending Annette to him again, and at last, he agrees to see her.
After so much confusion as the castle, the relative calm of this evening builds suspense in a different way through contrast. Montoni’s refusal to meet with Emily at the appointed time shows again how he is either careless or trying to avoid his problems.
Themes
Emily meets Montoni when he’s surrounded by several of his officers. She tells him she no longer desires to stay at Udolpho, and he has no right to imprison her. She also says she knows Madame Montoni is dead. Montoni looks at Emily strangely, but he says that Madame Montoni is still in the east turret, and she can see her if she likes.
After passively submitting to what was happening around her out of a sense of duty, Emily finally confronts Montoni and threatens to disobey him. Although she has little power to enforce her demands, this scene nevertheless represents a crucial change in how Emily views obedience and her sense of duty.
Themes
Emily leaves, and Montoni’s men began arguing about future battle plans, with Verezzi arguing that he doesn’t want to work with an assassin like Orsino. Orsino attempts to stab Verezzi, but other men stop him. Emily goes on see Madame Montoni, feeling faint again as she sees the spot on the stairs with blood on it.
The violent argument between Verezzi and Orsino shows that even among Montoni’s allies, things are starting to break down. Increasingly, it seems that Montoni will have to face the consequences of his past actions, whether he’s ready to or not.
Themes
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When Emily arrives in the chamber, she hears a voice ask where she’s been so long. Madame Montoni is alive after all, although she is weak and feels she will die soon. The blood on the stairs was just from a wounded man who helped carry Madame Montoni to her new room in the turret. Madame Montoni soon falls asleep.
This moment is bittersweet, as Emily learns that Madame Montoni is still alive but likely won’t be for long. Although the novel leaves open the possibility that Montoni has been poisoning Madame Montoni (and later parts of the book reference poison in regard to a different death), Montoni still needs Madame Montoni alive to sign some papers. Thus, it seems unlikely that Montoni is intentionally killing her (although he also doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to her care).
Themes
Emily tells Montoni about how Madame Montoni is dying and asks if her aunt can come out of the turret now due to her poor health. Montoni is reluctant, but eventually Emily persuades him to allow Madame Montoni back to her original apartment. That day, Emily spends a lot of time with her aunt to care for her. She leaves shortly after midnight and on her way back, she again sees the mysterious figure. She thinks the figure is beckoning her, but Emily can’t speak.
Emily does everything she can to take care of her aunt, even though Madame Montoni has done so little to take care of Emily. This passage highlights the full extent of Emily’s selflessness, perhaps also suggesting that her recent encounter with the corpse, which reminded her of her and her aunt’s mortality, has helped to give Emily a new perspective.
Themes
The figure makes a faint groan that sounds human. Emily asks who it is. But the figure silently retreats. Emily finds some watchmen and talks to them, confirming that they have also seen something unusual. They first started seeing the figure about a week ago. They too have heard the moaning sounds.
Emily’s encounter with a shadowy figure and her inability to speak give the end of this chapter a nightmarish quality. The groans Emily hears suggest suffering and represent a more ominous counterpart to the mysterious music she sometimes hears.
Themes
