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brughiera 's review for:
The Mysteries of Udolpho
by Ann Radcliffe
This is a book written by a woman for women and, it would appear, specifically for younger women apt to identify with the heroine, Emily. To the modern reader, she is a fearful, weepy creature rather too full of moral concerns and overly sensitive, particularly to her surroundings be they magnificent nature, of which there are many splendid descriptions, or to the suggestive environments of gloomy castles and dilapidated country houses. Once her beloved father dies and she is virtually imprisoned at the castle of Udolpho by the villainous Montoni, her moral fibre provides her with some resolution and the pace quickens. Suspense is augmented when description, usually abundant, is omitted as with the awful scene which so terrifies Emily when she lifts the veil in the secluded room in the tower. Intimations of spirits and strains of mysterious music serve to further heighten suspense. Even the jaded modern reader is anxious to know what will happen next.
It is easy to imagine how gripping this tale, set in remote France and Italy at the end of the sixteenth century, would be to young women in the eighteenth century with little exposure beyond their domestic circle. There is also romance although, initially, Vallancourt seems too good to be true and then Emily is too hard upon him, when she repudiates him for his reported misdeeds without trying to find out his own version of events. But all turns out well in the end, the impoverished heroine becomes a wealthy woman and gets her man and loose ends are tied up. I must admit to some dissatisfaction with Monsieur Du Pont, who is never rounded out as a character but serves as a potential rival to Vallancourt and then gives up the woman he has long loved (faithfully but hopelessly) without a struggle.
Overall an interesting read as a product of its time but too lengthy for any modern escapism.
It is easy to imagine how gripping this tale, set in remote France and Italy at the end of the sixteenth century, would be to young women in the eighteenth century with little exposure beyond their domestic circle. There is also romance although, initially, Vallancourt seems too good to be true and then Emily is too hard upon him, when she repudiates him for his reported misdeeds without trying to find out his own version of events. But all turns out well in the end, the impoverished heroine becomes a wealthy woman and gets her man and loose ends are tied up. I must admit to some dissatisfaction with Monsieur Du Pont, who is never rounded out as a character but serves as a potential rival to Vallancourt and then gives up the woman he has long loved (faithfully but hopelessly) without a struggle.
Overall an interesting read as a product of its time but too lengthy for any modern escapism.