The Mysteries of Udolpho

Music on the Water

The boat excursion is accompanied by soft, echoing music: attendants in a distant boat play horns and other wind instruments whose melancholy tones carry over the water and among the shore rocks, and later, as the party rows further up the bay, Blanche hears a faint swell of choral voices in the distance, which she identifies as similar to the vesper-hymns she heard in her convent.

The Marble Pavilion

After nearly an hour of rowing, the party lands and ascends an overgrown path to a variegated marble pavilion set in a shady wood recess, which Blanche glimpses through the trees. The pavilion is prepared for their visit but shows clear signs of long neglect, with faded painted walls and ceiling and decayed drapery on its once-magnificent furniture. The Countess, usually restless, becomes engaged by plans to repair and redecorate the space, which the Count happily supports; the planned updates include renewed wall and ceiling paintings, light green damask canopies and sofas, and marble wood-nymph statues holding baskets of living flowers. The octagonal pavilion’s windows frame multiple scenic views: a romantic glade, distant Pyrenees summits, the grey towers and ruins of Château-le-Blanc, pastures and villages along the Aude, the Mediterranean and its cliffs, and surrounding wild woods. The party enjoys a collation of fruit and coffee there, accompanied by the distant horns’ softened, echoing melodies.

The Monastery of St. Claire

After lingering at the pavilion, the party returns to the boat and extends their excursion further up the bay. As they row across the still, mirror-like water (which reflects the grey cliffs, feathery woods, glowing western horizon, and slow-moving eastern clouds), Blanche spots a cluster of high towers lit by the setting sun, then hears the faint choral voices again. The boat rounds a lofty headland to reveal the Monastery of St. Claire, seated on a low, almost fully wood-encircled shore: its great gate, gothic chapel window, cloisters, and a detached majestic ruin arch are visible, with moss covering its grey walls and ivy and briony hanging in fantastic wreaths around the chapel’s pointed windows.

CHAPITRE XI.

Chapter XI opens with the Count’s party arriving by boat at a coastal monastery as evening vespers commence, setting a solemn, atmospheric tone for the unfolding evening’s events.

Vespers at the Monastery

Blanche is moved to tears by the solemn vespers hymn sung by the monastery’s monks, with female voices mingling into the choral sound that swells to full harmony before fading to silence. After the service, a procession of friars and white-veiled nuns passes from the cloisters to the main monastery building.

The Countess Demands Return

The Countess is the first to break the reverent quiet after vespers, complaining that the gloomy hymns and monastic setting make her feel melancholy, and urging the group to return to the château before nightfall makes the journey too dark.

The Approaching Tempest

The Count spots an approaching tempest gathering in the east, with heavy gloom contrasting the bright sunset, seabirds fleeing for shelter, and distant thunder and rain beginning to fall. He redirects the boat back to the monastery for shelter, as the storm clouds turn a lurid red that lights the monastery’s towers and surrounding woods. The Countess and Mademoiselle Bearn are alarmed by the storm, while Blanche alternates between fear and awe at the grand, dramatic scenery and rolling thunder.

Flight to the Monastery

The boat reaches the monastery’s front lawn, and the Count sends a servant to request shelter from the monastery Superior. The Superior arrives at the gate with several monks, extending a greeting that blends hospitality with quiet pride, and blesses the party as they enter. The group is led into the great hall, where the lady abbess waits with nuns in black habits and white veils; the abbess leads the Countess, Blanche, and Mademoiselle Bearn to the convent parlour, while the Count and Henri are taken to the refectory.