The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

Publisher: Lexido.com (2013)

838 pages, eBook (Purchased Myself for $0.99)

Book Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Summary:

Emily is a naive young woman living an ideal life in the French countryside, when her parents die and she is forced to live with an aunt who is as far from being like-minded to her parents as can be, and whose love for extravagance leads to many troubles for Emily.

My Thoughts:

Emily is the ultimate damsel in distress. I don’t consider myself to be much of a feminist, but I found Emily very aggravating. Emily is timid, meek and extremely sheltered (as one might expect of a young woman of her station in that time period; this I expected) and continually overcome with distress and emotion (constantly fainting and in need of rest to recover her composure; this was at first amusing but became annoying) and in truth, completely useless is most any situation or circumstance (not even able to muster the courage to run away or hide from the danger that is impending; this was aggravating). She finds herself separated from Valancourt (the man she loves) by evil forces and both she and Valancourt lament this, but neither really does anything about it. I wish Valancourt had been more active in trying to get Emily back, but I was impressed with his willingness to own up to his faults and bad behavior that he became involved in in her absence, if only Emily didn’t have to make everything so hard on the poor guy. The story is intermingled with poetry, some of it lengthy and most of it having little to do with the story other than a general connection to everyone feeling mopey and full of grief. This is also full of lengthy descriptions of nature and its beauty, and its superiority to anything to do with society life in Paris or extravagance. It is a VERY long story and very slow moving . . . slowed even further by its tendency to go off on tangents now and then. If I had liked Emily more, I don’t think I would have been as bothered by the slow pace. I think in its day it would have been a shocking and frightening tale, but for a modern person the horror/suspense aspect of the story borders on silly.

Edition Notes:

This Lexido Classic Annotated ebook edition was nicely arranged for easy maneuverability within the text, included all the poetry with nice, readable formatting and at the end of the text some extra scholarly information on the author, text and genre are included for those with an interest. Great value for the price!

Quotes:

“To the south, the view was bounded by the majestic Pyrenees, whose summits, veiled in clouds, or exhibiting awful forms, seen and lost again, as the partial vapours rolled along, were sometimes barren and gleamed through the blue tinge of air and sometimes frowned with forests of gloomy pine that swept downward to their base.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—the wild walks of the mountains, the river, on whose waves he had floated and the distant plains, which seemed boundless as his early hopes—” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“The vacant mind is ever on the watch for relief and ready to plunge into error, to escape from the languor of idleness. Store it with ideas, teach it the pleasure of thinking; and the temptations of the world without, will be counteracted by the gratifications derived from the world within.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“‘Perhaps I shall some time look back to these moments, as to the summit of my happiness, with hopeless regret. But let me not misuse them by useless anticipation; let me hope I shall not live to mourn the lose of those who are dearer to me than life.’” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“I have endeavoured to teach you, from your earliest youth, the duty of self-command; I have pointed out to you the great importance of it through life, not only as it preserves us in the various and dangerous temptations that call us from rectitude and virtue, but as it limits the indulgences which are termed virtuous, yet which, extended beyond a certain boundary, are vicious, for their consequence is evil. All excess is vicious; even that sorrow, which is amiable in its origin, becomes a selfish and unjust passion, if indulged at the expense of our duties—by our duties I mean what we owe to ourselves, as well as to others. The indulgence of excessive grief enervates the mind and almost incapacitates it for again partaking of those various innocent enjoyments which a benevolent God designed to be the sun-shine of our lives.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“He felt more indignation at their vices, than compassion for their weaknesses.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“This landscape with the surrounding alps did, indeed, present a perfect picture of the lovely and the sublime, of ‘beauty sleeping in the lap of horror.’” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“If the spirits of those we love ever return to us, it is in kindness.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“The solitary life, which Emily had led of late and the melancholy subjects, on which she had suffered her thoughts to dwell, had rendered her at times sensible to the ‘thick-coming fancies’ of a mind greatly enervated.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—shut out from the only home she had known from her infancy and thrown upon a scene and among persons, disagreeable for more qualities than their novelty.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—long indulged the pleasing sadness that had stolen upon her spirits.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—saw him go with regret; for she considered his presence a protection, though she knew not what she should fear.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—like the dream of a distempered imagination—“-Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—with all the swiftness her feebleness would permit—“-Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“The scenes of Chateau-le-Blanc often came to his remembrance, heightened by the touches, which a warm imagination gives to the recollection of early pleasures.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“How can the poor nuns and friars feel the full fervour of devotion, if they never see the sun rise, or set?” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“O, who would live in Paris, to look upon black walls and dirty streets when, in the country, they might gaze on the blue heavens and all the green earth!” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“Who could first invent convents!—and who could first persuade people to go into them? And to make religion a pretence, too where all that should inspire it, it so carefully shut out! God is best pleased with the homage of a grateful heart and when we view his glories, we feel most grateful. I never felt so much devotion, during the many dull years I was in the convent, as I have done in the few hours that I have been here, where I need only look on all around me—to adore God in my inmost heart!” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—except the Countess, whose vacant mind, overcome by the languor of idleness, would neither suffer her to be happy herself, or to contribute to the happiness of others.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“To have lost Valancourt by death, or to have seen him married to a rival would, she thought, have given her less anguish, than a conviction of his unworthiness, which must terminate in misery to himself and which robbed her even of the solitary image her heart so long had cherished.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“We know not—the nature, or the power of an evil spirit; and that such a spirit haunts those chambers can now, I think, scarcely be doubted. Beware, my lord, how you provoke its vengeance, since it has already given us one terrible example of its malice. I allow it may be probable that the spirits of the dead are permitted to return to the earth only on occasions of high import; but the present import may be your destruction.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—they, at length, confessed, what the Count had begun to suspect that they had been, for some time, doubtful of their way and were now certain only that they had lost it.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“—though the vicious can sometimes pour affliction upon the good, their power is transient and their punishment certain; and that innocence, though oppressed by injustice, shall, supported by patience, finally triumph over misfortune!” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho

“And if the weak hand that has recorded this tale, has, by its scenes, beguiled the mourner of one hour of sorrow, or, by its moral, taught him to sustain it—the effort, however humble, has not been vain, nor is the writer unrewarded.” -Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho