Out of the Labyrinth of Perplexities (Udolpho V)

On page 648 out of 672 in The Mysteries of Udolpho,

"Emily was still lost in a labyrinth of perplexities"

– and so is the reader; even if some connections are by then slowly beginning to dawn upon us.

The whole book finished, just 24 pages later, I have to humbly revise my earlier impression that the author didn't quite know herself where she was going with the story. The slow beginning is deceptive; it really contains several details that turn out to be quite important later on. All the twists and turns and dead ends along the way - represented by the dark corridors and dusty chambers of the castles, as well as all the travelling abroad - are also an illustration of the winding path of the story itself, leading us round and back and forth like a labyrinth, luring us to false conclusions; sometimes false hope, and sometimes despair of ever getting out and reaching an explanation of the mysteries.

As you could see in my previous Udolpho post (The Mysterious Herione), 115 pages from the end, I still didn't feel at all sure what would prove to be important or not when we came to the conclusion of the story. I only mentioned one, but Emily really brought two major unsolved mysteries with her (in her mind) from Udolpho. Both of these were explained before the end; but one turned out to be of greater importance than the other.

Moral: Sometimes, the things we do not see can haunt us just as much as those we believe we have seen. Come to think of it, this applies to relationships as well: what we don't know can prove as important as that which we think we know…

All in all, I don't regret the journey!

PS. One complaint from my second Udolpho post still stands, although it may seem rather pettish: I still think it was a mistake by the author to suddenly introduce Emily's father's dog, "the faithful Manchon", into one single event at the Castle of Udolopho – the dog never mentioned before that, and never again afterwards! ;-)

Links to previous Udolpho posts:
Reading The Mysteries of Udolpho
The Castle, At Last! (Mysteries of Udolpho II)
Multiple Choice (Mysteries of Udolpho III)
The Mysterious Heroine (Udolpho IV)

The Mysterious Heroine (Udolpho IV)

Remember Emily? In my last report from The Mysteries of Udolpho, she had temporarily left that gloomy castle; but, as I suspected, she soon had to go back. (She really did not have much say in the matter.)

However, I was still in for another surprise, since her second stay at Udolpho did not last nearly as long as I expected. Now the girl is rambling around in another castle (or chateau), which has its own share of dusty abandoned rooms, unexplained mysteries and possible ghosts - just with a different landscape scenery outside.

There are still a lot of secrets in the air, and loose ends to tie up, concerning Udolpho as well as the other place. Relationships are also a bit messed up at the moment. The real villains do not seem likely to better themselves; but who of the heroes that will turn out to be the most heroic appears less certain.

One thing that seriously annoys me as reader is that while I'm led round and round in the maze of dark corridors, galleries, halls and chambers in these moldy old castles and chateaus, Emily still does not let me into every nook and cranny of her thoughts. I know she saw something at Udolpho, quite early on, that she just shut up in her own mind, and never talks to anyone about. Not even to the reader who has faithfully stood by her for 550 pages now… She just shudders occasionally when she comes to think of it, but always shakes it off again without explanation. But is it even important? And will it ever be revealed?

There is only one way to know. About 115 pages left to read now…

Quotation of the Week (12/03)

But the fire of the poet is in vain, if the mind of his reader is not tempered like his own, however it may be inferior to his in power.

Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho, Vol. 3, Ch. V

Multiple Choice (Mysteries of Udolpho III)

Emily - the heroine of The Mysteries of Udolpho – is at present enjoying a little repose from the terrors at Udolpho; which she really deserves, since she has been through a lot lately. I take the opportunity to breathe a little, too, and recapitulate. Cruel though it may seem, I'm hoping Emily will be going back to the castle soon, because there seems to be a lot left to be sorted out at that place, and we still have 250 pages to go...

If the idea has not already been used, Udolpho would make a great scene for an Interactive Fiction (IF) computer game, the "old fashioned" kind with just text and no pictures. I haven't played a lot of them but a few. In some of them, you get multiple choices; in others, you have to come up with suggestions yourself (like: Go north, or Feed dog, or Hit dwarf with axe.) Some are just boring, but the good ones really create pictures in your head although you haven't actually been shown any. Ann Radcliffe's novel leaves the same kind of impression – the plot sort of keeps going round in circles, but you have to give her credit for her ability to paint pictures with words, whether the subject is a tranquil valley landscape or a gloomy castle up in the mountains.

Anyway, here is a Multiple Choice scene for an imaginary Udolpho IF game:

You are all alone in your gloomy bedroom at the Castle of Udolpho. It is midnight, the fire has gone out and you have no way to light your candle. You are a long way from the servants quarters of the castle. The other rooms in your corridor are empty, or at least you would prefer to think so, because the alternative is even more unpleasant to consider. You are sitting by the window, gazing medatively out over the ramparts. The moon shines over a wild mountain landscape of pine forests and deep ravines. Suddenly, you see a dark figure moving in the shadows on the rampart below. There really should not be anybody there at this hour. What do you do?

a/ You recall the stories you have heard about the castle being haunted, and faint.

b/ You tell yourself it must be one of the guards, but wonder what he is doing there.

c/ You think it is your beloved fiancé, whom you reluctantly left behind in France.

d/ You decide to keep watch the next night too, and see if the figure returns.

e/ You decide to wait for the maid, and ask her what she thinks. (You already know that she will think it was a ghost, and then you can play the rational one and convince her that there are no ghosts, and that there must be a natural explanation.)

f/ You decide not to wait for the maid but to go and find her, even though you have no light.

h/ You open the window and call out: "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

In the game of Udolpho, you should not expect just one of these answers to be the right one. They will all lead you on in different directions; but in the next chapter you will again find yourself right back in your room by the window, at midnight…

Read more about Interactive Fiction (Wikipedia)

The Castle, at last! (Mysteries of Udolpho II)

Reader's patience awarded; the next chapter transported me (along with the main characters) more quickly than I had come to expect (see previous post), to the Castle of Udolpho. Wild mountain scenery, quickened pace of events, dark and gloomy castle, hints of ghost and other lurking terrors... Now I feel I'm in a Gothic novel...

Although what puzzles me more than mysterious covered portraits or secret passages (which I have been expecting) is the sudden presence of the heroine's late father's old dog, lying at the foot of her bed, just when it is needed. The dog has never been mentioned before (all the emphasis has been on Emily being completely alone), but logically it must have been her companion ever since she left home, a couple of hundred pages ago. (Since Emily herelf is not at all surprised to see it.)

Now the question is, how and when to get out of the castle. 400 pages to go... I suppose we'll have to explore a few more nooks and crannies before we leave! ;-)

She often paused to examine the gothic magnificence of Udolpho, its proud irregularity, its lofty towers and battlements, its high-arched casements, and its slender watch-towers, perched upon the corners of turrets. Then she would lean on the wall of the terrace, and, shuddering, measure with her eye the precipice below, till the dark summits of the woods arrested it. Whereever she turned, appeared mountain-tops, forests of pine and narrow glens, opening among the Apennines and retiring from sight into inaccessible regions.
The Mysteries of Udolpho, Volume 2, Ch. VI

Reading The Mysteries of Udolpho

Woman on a balcony by Carl Gustav Carus
(=the front cover picture on my copy of Udolpho)

After finishing Wuthering Heights, I picked up another
classic novel, that I first started reading a year or two ago, but for some reason or other lay aside again. The book is Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho from 1794, and I have been curious about it ever since I first read Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, which parodies this and other Gothic novels.

After 220 pages out of 670 (which is further along than I got last time) I'm still wondering when I'll be getting to the "gothic" stuff; or if I shall have to review my whole concept of that word.

So far, the heroine has spent most of her time gazing out over tranquil landscapes, feeling generally faint. Well, she has lost her parents, and had to leave her childhood home, and her beloved fiancé, and is on the verge of being forced into marriage with another man whom she does not love (or even respect). But all is happening at a very slow pace - I suppose in a way reflecting the very slow pace of travelling by horse and carriage in those days! - set against impressive mountains, peaceful valleys full of sheep and shepherds and dancing(!) peasants, fresh verdure and colourful sunsets, French chateaus surrounded by vast parks, and Venetian palaces overlooking canals with gondolas... (We're nowhere near the mysterious Udolpho yet, but the name has recently been introduced in passing once or twice...)

The most interesting part of it all so far is really that the author herself had never actually travelled and seen the landscapes that she so meticiously describes...

However, by writing down that I intend to finish the book this time, I'm hoping this will help me keep my resolution to do so! ;-)

Here's a teaser from the last chapter I read, Volume 2, Ch IV - a conversation between heroine Emily and her aunt:

'...I wish to see you happy, and it is your own fault if you are not so. I would ask you, now, seriously and calmly, what kind of a match you can expect, since a Count cannot content your ambition?'
'I have no ambition whatever, madam,' replied Emily, 'my only wish is to remain in my present station.'

Quotation of the Week 11/09

They loved and were beloved, and saw not, that the very attachment, which formed the delight of their present days, might possibly occasion the sufferings of years.

Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho, Volume I, Ch XII (1794)