Emily Observes Intensifying Storm From Her Casement
Emily rewards Anthonio with a coin and closes the casement. She then reopens it to listen with dark satisfaction as thunder begins to rumble among the mountains. Lightning breaks over the distant landscape while accumulating clouds turn a red, sulphureous color, heralding a violent storm. Emily remains at her window until the frequent lightning makes it unsafe, then retires to her couch but cannot sleep, listening in awed silence to tremendous sounds that seem to shake the castle.
Annette Alerts Emily to Madame Montoni’s Dying State
Amidst the storm’s fury, Emily hears a noise and sees Annette enter with wild terror, announcing that Madame Montoni is dying. Emily rushes immediately to her aunt’s room.
Emily Discovers Madame Montoni Has Died
Emily finds her aunt insensible and motionless. Despite applying every restorative measure, Madame Montoni is gone. Emily learns that her aunt had dozed peacefully after Emily’s departure and was not frightened by the thunder, yet suddenly died. Emily believes the violent atmospheric change caused by the tempest proved fatal to her aunt’s exhausted frame.
Emily Delays Informing Montoni, Performs Last Rites and Prays
Emily decides to withhold news of her aunt’s death from Montoni until morning, unable to endure his likely inhuman remarks. With only Annette for company, Emily performs solemn last offices for the dead and maintains vigil through the night beside the body as the storm rages. During this somber period, she frequently prays to Heaven for support and protection.
CHAPTER V
Chapter V opens with a grim verse about the midnight death bell, then follows the immediate aftermath of Madame Montoni’s death: Montoni’s unbridled resentment that his wife died without signing over her coveted estate, Emily’s devoted vigil by her aunt’s corpse, and the arrangement of a secret midnight funeral for Madame Montoni.
Midnight Death Bell Verse
The chapter opens with an excerpted verse describing the slow, profound toll of the midnight death bell, its sullen sound flinging through the hollow gale to mark a passing.
Montoni’s Resentment at Wife’s Death
When Montoni learns his wife has died without signing over the estate he sought, he makes no effort to hide his fury. Emily avoids his presence entirely, and spends two days and two nights keeping constant watch by Madame Montoni’s corpse, her grief softening her memories of her aunt’s former unjust and imperious treatment, though she sometimes reflects sadly on the infatuation that led her aunt to marry Montoni, feeling only sorrow rather than anger at the circumstance.
Emily’s Vigil by Madame Montoni’s Corpse
Emily tends to her aunt’s remains with pious care, undisturbed by Montoni who avoids the chamber and the adjacent part of the castle as if he fears contagion from death. He gives no initial orders for the funeral, leading Emily to fear he plans to insult her aunt’s memory, but she is relieved when Annette informs her the interment is scheduled for that night.
Madame Montoni’s Planned Midnight Funeral
Emily is dismayed to learn the funeral will be held at midnight, with no relatives or friends present besides herself, and that Montoni will not attend. Despite her terror of the rough men tasked with carrying the body and the cold, remote castle vault where it will be laid, she resolves to attend to pay her aunt the last decent rites, refusing to let fear deter her from her duty.
Midnight Funeral Procession to Castle Vault
After preparing Madame Montoni’s corpse with Annette, Emily waits beside it until past midnight, when the torch-bearing men arrive to carry the body. She follows them through the dark, ruined courts and ivied chapel of the castle, overcoming her fear to descend the steps to the vaults, guided only by the faint torch light and the echo of the men’s footsteps.
Burial Service in Castle Vault
Inside the low, arched vault, the men lay Madame Montoni’s body near an open grave, where a friar begins the burial service. The scene is starkly contrasted between the fierce, rough condottieri holding torches over the grave, and the venerable, pious friar performing the solemn rites, while Emily stands grieving beside Annette, her face shaded by a veil as she mourns her last remaining relative and friend.
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