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Volume 4, Chapter 11
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
Meanwhile, Count De Villefort and Blanche stay for two weeks at the chateau of Baron St. Foix and have a pleasant time. After their visit, they head to La Vallée, traveling until it gets dark and gloomy that evening. Blanche recalls a poem Emily gave her about bats. Chevalier St. Foix has come along with them for the journey. Eventually, they reach a point where they don’t think they will be able to make it to an inn, so they start a fire to rest under the moonlight.
With this chapter, the story comes full circle. What began as a journey with St. Aubert, Emily, and Valancourt, now has a parallel journey at the end with characters who correspond to them: Count De Villefort (in St. Aubert’s role), Blanche (as Emily), and Chevalier St. Foix (as Valancourt). There are many such patterns that repeat through history in the story, such as how Emily bears a strong resemblance to the Marchioness de Villeroi.
Themes
Count De Villefort, Blanche, and Chevalier St. Foix contemplate the misty cliffs that surround them. Later, they continue walking under the moonlight, proceeding along a narrow path. Eventually one of the servants with them discovers a huge gate that seems to be part of a ruined fortress. The Count decides they should spend the night there.
The ruined fortress is yet another example of a decaying, foreboding old building in the story. The darkness of the setting, with the only light being moonlight, further contributes to the atmosphere of uncertainty and unease around the travelers.
Themes
As the travelers approach the fortress, they come across some strangers there who appear to be hunters. Count De Villefort introduces himself, in order to show that he is not a bandit. He asks to be let through the fortress gate. A man with a spear doesn’t want to let them in, but another man says they’re welcome to enter. Blanche has a bad feeling and wants to leave.
Once again, the presence of weapons signifies imminent danger, something that Blanche immediately senses but which the more trusting Count De Villefort does not. Like at Udolpho, the limited ways to enter and exit the fortress give it a prisonlike appearance.
Themes
Count De Villefort, Blanche, and Chevalier St. Foix sit around a fire with the men from the fortress. The Count comments on what a pleasant life the hunters seem to have. The hunters want to take their guests to their rooms, but Blanche distrusts them and wants to stay by the fire. The hunters insist, but as they’re leading everyone to their new room, Blanche gets lost in the dark fortress.
Blanche’s adventures in the fortress mirror some of Emily’s trials in Udolpho, with Blanche too having to decide what to do when she suddenly finds herself alone in the dark. As is usually the case, darkness represents uncertainty and the possibility of danger.
Themes
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Blanche stumbles along in the dark and tries to follow the sound of voices she hears. When she gets close to some of the hunters, she overhears one of them talking about killing some of their guests and letting the others go. The other, however, recommends killing them all to be safe. They plan to use poison. It turns out these men aren’t hunters but smugglers—and robbing their new guests offers the prospect of a bigger payday than any typical smuggling job.
Blanche gets clear confirmation of her worst fears: that these men are willing to kill their new prisoners for the sake of making a profit. These bandits have echoes of some of the other villainous characters in the story, as they’re motivated by their greed and lack of empathy as well as talking about using poison (as the Marquis de Villeroi seemingly did on the Marchioness).
Themes
While Blanche is trying to stealthily avoid the smugglers, she trips, drawing their attention. They catch her and ask what she’s overheard. Blanche offers the men all her money if they just return her to the others. All of a sudden, in the distance Blanche hears gunshots and the clash of swords. She faints.
Like Emily, Blanche exhibits bravery but often has such a visceral reaction to surprises that she faints. As is often the case for women in the story, Blanche hears signs of violence happening around her but doesn’t witness it directly.
Themes
When Blanche recovers, she sees that Chevalier St. Foix has been badly injured. She thinks at first Count De Villefort is taking care of him, but to her surprise, it’s Ludovico tending to the chevalier. The Count eventually arrives and tells everyone to gather in one place so they can leave. He reveals that the smugglers have all been locked in the dungeon. The travelers leave the fortress, and the Count asks Ludovico to explain how he disappeared from the house and ended up with the smugglers.
The dramatic return of Ludovico, who was at the center of one of the novel’s biggest mysteries, seems to confirm the ultimate lack of supernatural elements in the story. Instead of ghosts, it was smugglers who took Ludovico. On the one hand, this seems to be a hopeful message, confirming St. Aubert’s faith in a rational world. But on the other hand, it’s possible to take a darker interpretation, suggesting that the evil things normal humans do appear to be the work of ghosts.
Themes
