Agnes’s Delirious Deathbed Accusations
Inside the chamber, Agnes lies upon a mattress, her countenance ghastly and overspread with gloomy horror, her dim hollow eyes fixed on a crucifix. As Emily and the abbess approach, Agnes turns her heavy eyes wildly upon Emily and screams that the vision comes upon her in her dying hours, calling her the very self of the fascination that proved her destruction and demanding retribution. Ranting of years passed since she last saw Emily, of blooming beauty, and of an abhorred deed, Agnes cries out that years of prayers and repentance cannot wash out the foulness of murder, gazes into the air as if seeing spectres, and at last sinks down apparently lifeless. The abbess soothes Emily, explains that the delirium is passing, and the nun attributes the paroxysm to the arrival of the gentleman Agnes wished to see.
Agnes Links Emily to the Marchioness and Reveals Identity
When Agnes recovers, the wild expression has given way to gloomy melancholy, and she asks Emily, though her name is St. Aubert, whether she is not the daughter of the Marchioness. The mention of the Marchioness de Villeroi, combined with Emily’s memory of her father’s emotion and his request to be laid near the Villeroi tomb, deepens her interest. Agnes directs the nun to bring a casket, from which she shows Emily a miniature bearing an exact resemblance to a portrait Emily had found among her father’s papers; she bequeaths it to Emily, then produces a second miniature. The second portrait shocks Emily as the likeness of Signora Laurentini of Udolpho, the lady who had disappeared so mysteriously and whom Montoni had been suspected of murdering. As Laurentini recovers her senses, she concedes, “you may now call me the Lady Laurentini,” confirming that the dying nun and the vanished noblewoman are one and the same.
Laurentini’s Warning on Unchecked Passions
Laurentini seizes Emily’s cold, damp hand and solemnly warns her to beware of the first indulgence of the passions, whose unchecked course is rapid, whose force is uncontrollable, and which can lead to crimes that years of prayer and penitence cannot atone. She likens passion to a fiend that possesses, accomplishes its purpose, and then leaves the soul to the tortures of compassion, remorse, and conscience. She reflects that the suffering of poverty and despair is nothing to the anguish of an afflicted conscience, and urges that the passions are seeds of either vices or virtues according to how they are nurtured, lamenting those who have never been taught to govern them.
Agnes’s Convulsions Over Udolpho Murder Mention
As the conversation turns to the castle of Udolpho, Emily names the place and recalls the terrible spectacle she witnessed in a chamber there, mentioning the west chamber, the mournful veil, and the object it conceals. At the mention of murder, Laurentini shrieks, imagining the spectre returning from the grave, insisting there was no blood, and begging the vision not to smile so piteously upon her. As she utters the last words she falls into convulsions, her starting eyes seeming to follow some horror around the room.
Emily Departs the Convent in Horror
Unable any longer to endure the horror of the scene, Emily hurries from the chamber and sends some nuns to assist the abbess, leaving the full truth of Laurentini’s guilt and of her own relation to the Marchioness still suspended in the labyrinth of her mind.
CHAPTER XVI
Chapter XVI depicts the immediate aftermath of Agnes’ attack on Laurentini in the convent, then follows Emily and her companions as they return through the woods to Château-le-Blanc, where they encounter Mons. Bonnac, whose life intersects with Valancourt’s through an act of generous imprisonment. Through Bonnac’s account, the true noble character of Valancourt is revealed, prompting Du Pont to relinquish his pursuit of Emily and Count Villefort to forgive Valancourt, restoring him to Emily’s good graces.
Convent Aftermath of Agnes’ Attack
Following the attack on Sister Agnes, Emily is surrounded in the parlour by Lady Blanche and the boarders, who are alarmed by her terrified countenance. She briefly explains that Agnes is dying but avoids further questioning, being too shocked to converse. Emily learns that Laurentini seems to be reviving after the convulsions cease, and as she and Blanche prepare to depart, the abbess appears and requests a private meeting with Emily the following day.
The original text of this work is in the public domain. This page focuses on a guided summary article, reading notes, selected quotes, and visual learning materials for educational purposes.