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Volume 1, Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Mysteries of Udolpho, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Marriage, Love, and Inheritance
The Wonders of Nature
Mystery and Superstition
Mortality
The Value of Education and Art
Summary
Analysis
St. Aubert feels refreshed after sleeping, and so he, Emily, and Valancourt set out once more. The journey is pleasant, full of more spectacular scenery, although the conversations between Valancourt and Emily have more silences in them than usual. The group comes to the cottage of a shepherd, where the adults are away, and some young children are playing. The road ahead is steep, but Valancourt goes out to scout out a way that might be easier for St. Aubert to climb.
As the journey continues, there are more hints of a potential relationship between Emily and Valancourt. Once again, the story captures a generational shift as St. Aubert seemingly comes toward the end of his life’s journey while Emily is just setting out on a new phase of her life.
Themes
A young woman comes over to join the playing children. She seems distressed, and she eventually reveals to St. Aubert that her husband the shepherd lost several sheep the previous night to a “gang of gipsies.” Seeing her sadness, Valancourt offers to pay enough money to replace the stolen sheep, even though it will leave him with so little money on hand that his own journey will be difficult. The shepherd comes back, and Valancourt knows he has to give the man the money. He feels good about what he’s done, and St. Aubert praises him.
Valancourt shows that he’s willing to be generous even to a total stranger (although it’s also possible that perhaps he is trying to impress Emily and St. Aubert, which he succeeds in doing). Shepherds have religious significance in Christianity, with shepherds appearing in several parts of the Bible and with Jesus himself often compared to a shepherd. The charity that Valancourt shows to the shepherd helps establish Valancourt as a good Christian.
Themes
St. Aubert, Emily, and Valancourt continue their journey. They come across some barren granite rocks, and near the edge of a cliff is a gigantic cross. Emily thinks she sees dreadful signs near the cross, but she doesn’t tell anyone. Eventually, they descend the mountains and make it to the plains. Valancourt has run out of reasons to go with St. Aubert and Emily, since they will soon be reaching their destination. The next morning, they will go to Languedoc, and he will go off exploring on his own. Emily tries to stay cheerful but seems melancholy.
The gigantic cross on the hill continues the religious symbolism of the travelers’ journey. The cross on a hill carries a wide range of meanings, as it’s associated with suffering and the crucifixion of Jesus but is also associated with salvation and the promise of eternal life. Here the cross seems to have a dark meaning, signifying the end of Valancourt’s time with the group and possibly soon the end of St. Aubert’s life journey. But it also offers the promise of hope for the future.
Themes
