The Mysteries of Udolpho
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 Title page from first edition. |
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| Author | Ann Radcliffe |
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| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Gothic novel |
| Publisher | G. G. and J. Robinson |
| Released | 1794 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover), 4 volumes |
| ISBN | NA |
The Mysteries of Udolpho, by Ann Radcliffe, was published in the summer of 1794 by G. G. and J. Robinson of London in 4 volumes. Her fourth and most popular novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho follows the fortunes of Emily St. Aubert who suffers, among other misadventures, the death of her father, supernatural terrors in a gloomy castle, and the machinations of an Italian brigand. Often cited as the archetypal Gothic novel, The Mysteries of Udolpho plays a prominent role in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey, in which an impressionable young woman, after reading Radcliffe's novel, comes to see her friends and acquaintances as Gothic villains and victims with amusing results.
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[edit] Plot introduction
The Mysteries of Udolpho is a quintessential Gothic romance, replete with incidents of physical and psychological terror; remote, crumbling castles; seemingly supernatural events; a brooding, scheming villain; and a persecuted heroine. To this mix Radcliffe adds extensive descriptions of exotic landscapes in the Pyrenees and Apennines. Set in 1584 in southern France and northern Italy, the novel focuses on the plight of Emily St. Aubert, a young French woman who is orphaned after the death of her father. Emily suffers imprisonment in the castle Udolpho at the hands of Signor Montoni, an Italian brigand who has married her aunt and guardian Madame Cheron. Emily's romance with Valancourt, the younger brother of Count Duvarney, is frustrated by Montoni and others. Emily also endeavors to discover an explanation for the mysterious relationship between her father and the Marchioness de Villeroi, a mystery which appears to have connections to the castle Udolpho.
[edit] Plot summary
The Mysteries of Udolpho, set in 1584, tells the story of Emily St. Aubert, the only child of a landed rural family whose fortunes are now in decline. Emily and her father share an especially close bond, due to their shared appreciation for nature. After her mother's death from a serious illness, Emily and father grow even closer. She accompanies him on a trip to Switzerland, where they encounter Valancourt, a handsome man who also feels an almost mystical kinship with the natural world. Emily and Valancourt quickly fall in love.
Emily's father succumbs to a long illness. Emily, now orphaned, is sent to live with her aunt, Madame Cheron (later known as Madame Montoni), who shares none of her interests and shows her little affection. Madame Cheron marries Montoni, the villain of the story. Montoni brings Madame Montoni and Emily to Udolpho (therefore separating Emily from her suitor Valancourt), where Montoni threatens Madame with violence in order to force her to sign over her properties in Toulouse, which upon her death would otherwise go to Emily. Many frightening but coincidental events happen within the castle, and in the end, Emily takes control of her property and is reunited with Valancourt.
[edit] Characters in "The Mysteries of Udolpho"
Emily St. Aubert: Emily is the novel's protagonist and much of the action takes place from her point of view. She is unusually beautiful and gentle with a slight and graceful figure. As for her character, she is virtuous, firm, sensitive, and self-reliant.
St. Aubert: Emily's father dies early in the novel while he, Emily, and Valancourt are traveling. He warns Emily on his death bed to not become a victim of her feelings but to acquire command over her emotions. His unaccountable relationship with the Marchioness de Villeroi is one of the novel's central mysteries.
Valancourt: The younger brother of the Count Duvarney, Valancourt forms an attachment to Emily while traveling with her and her father through the Pyrenees. He is a dashing young man with a noble character but inclined to overexuberance. St. Aubert considers Valancourt a desirable match for Emily but Valancourt lacks wealth.
Madame Cheron: St. Aubert's sister and Emily's aunt. Madame Cheron is a selfish, wealthy widow living on her estate near Toulouse when Emily becomes her ward after St. Aubert's death.
Montoni: Brooding, haughty, and scheming, Montoni is the prototypical Gothic villain. He masquerades as an Italian nobleman to gain Madame Cheron's hand in marriage then imprisons Emily and Madame Cheron in Udolpho in an attempt to acquire control over Madame Cheron's fortune.
Count Morano: Count Morano is introduced to Emily by Montoni who commands that she marry Morano. Emily refuses but Morano continues to pursue her in Venice and later Udolpho.
Annette: A maid who accompanied Madame Cheron from France, Annette is inclined to exaggeration and superstition but is faithful and honest.
Ludovico: Ludovico is one of Montoni's servants. He falls in love with Annette and provides assistance to Emily.
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The Mysteries of Udolpho is important because frightening and apparently supernatural events are ultimately given rational explanations by Radcliffe, and the novel was one of the works parodied in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. Though recognised for Austen's mocking, The Mysteries of Udolpho was popular in its day and praised by personages such as Sir Walter Scott, author of the Waverley Novels.
[edit] Trivia
- According to Radcliffe's contract for The Mysteries of Udolpho, which is housed at the University of Virginia Library, she was paid £500 for the manuscript.
- The Mysteries of Udolpho plays a small part in Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia, as one of its characters describes a garden as worthy of Udolpho (Faber and Faber edition, page 13).
- Henry James mentions the "mystery of Udolpho" in The Turn of the Screw, at the beginning of Chapter IV: "Was there a 'secret' at Bly--a mystery of Udolpho or an insane, an unmentionable relative kept in unsuspected confinement?"
- The Veiled Picture; or, The Mysteries of Gorgono, published in 1802, is a chapbook edition of The Mysteries of Udolpho. It preserves most of the characters and plot elements from Udolpho but dispenses with details and descriptions.
[edit] External links
- The Mysteries of Udolpho, available at Project Gutenberg.
