The Mysteries of Udolpho

The Night Journey Through the Apennines

Emily’s return journey takes place on a cloudy night with only intermittent moonlight, lit by a torch carried by Ugo. She passes the time in somber reflection, while her companions comment on the sharp chill of the mountain air compared to Tuscany’s warm lowlands. The distant toll of Udolpho’s castle clock reaches the party, which Emily interprets as a mournful knell foretelling a grim fate for her, while Bertrand and Ugo note the clock survived the siege despite heavy cannon fire.

Signs of Battle in the Woods

As the party winds up the mountain toward Udolpho, they see clear evidence of the recent siege in the surrounding woods: noble trees are felled or stripped of upper branches by enemy fire, the path is pocked with cannonball holes, and strewn with broken arrowheads, shattered armor, and the bloodstained breastplate of a fallen soldier. Emily is horrified by the visible remnants of violence, but Bertrand and Ugo pause to examine the artifacts, noting the area was a focal point of the garrison’s heaviest fire against the besiegers.

Remnants of the Siege

The party moves through the woods to an open clearing that shows even more devastating siege damage: massive tree trunks and branches litter the ground, evidence of the intense fighting that took place there. Ugo’s torch illuminates scattered broken weapons and the torn clothing of dead soldiers, and Emily fears she will glimpse corpses as she looks over the desolated landscape. The castle clock strikes midnight, followed by a revived wartime custom of a trumpet signal to announce the changing of the guard.

Approach to the Castle

As they draw closer to Udolpho, Emily sees the full, gloomy mass of the castle’s walls and towers, which fill her with terror at the thought of returning to her prison, though she clings to the hope that Valancourt is within. They reach the base of the steep hill the castle sits on, where Ugo warns of cannonball holes in the path, and the party dismounts to lead their mules up the slope. Ugo casually mentions seeing one or two enemy corpses lying in the woods when he departed, startling Emily, who fears encountering surviving enemies or the remains of the dead.

The Shattered Tower

From the base of the hill, Emily can see the heavy damage the siege inflicted on the castle’s great gate tower, which has nearly demolished battlements and a broken wall, contradicting Ugo’s earlier boast that the attackers were easily repelled. She sees a light moving up the tower’s narrow internal staircase, and remembers the night she was tricked by Barnardine into climbing the same tower to see Madame Montoni, filling her with dread. She fears the tower may now be used to hold corpses, and her fear of Montoni’s vengeance grows as she recalls the tragic fate of Madame Montoni.

Returning to Udolpho

The party reaches the castle gates, where Bertrand calls out to the sentinel, who initially demands to know who seeks entry before recognizing Ugo and opening a small postern door. Emily steps through the gloomy arch into the first courtyard, struck by the desolate silence of the castle at dead of night, the gothic gloom of the surrounding buildings, and hollow echoes that amplify her melancholy fears. She feels as though the gate has shut her off from the world forever, and she dreads encountering Montoni or his companions.

Sounds of Revelry Within

As they cross the second courtyard, a loud noise of revelry and laughter spills from the castle, which Emily finds unsettling rather than joyful. Bertrand jokes that the castle has a stock of Tuscany wine, while Ugo explains that since the end of the siege, Montoni and his men have spent their nights carousing instead of holding council, a change from previous custom. The soldier on guard complains that the cold night watch would be more bearable with wine, and Ugo teases him about courage warming him instead, before the group reaches the great hall door.