The Mysteries of Udolpho Volume 1, Chapter 8 Summary

  • The monk who attended St. Aubert invites Emily to come visit the nearby convent, but she needs to get it together first.
  • There's a lot of crying going on here, naturally. Emily can't help but hear the same mysterious music she heard on the first night. St. Aubert, is that you?
  • Emily chills at La Voisin's place for a little bit before heading over to the convent to check it out.
  • The lady abbess is a pretty cool gal who gets what Emily is going through. She invites Emily to evening prayers and cheers her up a bit, which is pretty difficult at this point.
  • La Voisin walks Emily back to his house to stay the night before her father's funeral, but she can't get the banditti out of her head (like father, like daughter).
  • La Voisin isn't too worried about banditti popping out of the woods, but he reiterates that the chateau is not a good place to visit at night. No way, no how.
  • Before the big funeral, Emily asks to spend some time gazing at her father's body.
  • La Voisin peeps in the room and sees Emily lying senseless on the floor. Apparently, the shock was too much.
  • After La Voisin revives her, Emily barely makes it through the funeral. There's lots of shuddering, crying, and moaning going on.
  • Once again, abbess to the rescue! She comforts Emily and asks her to stay a few days at the convent.
  • So Emily hangs out at the convent for a bit, writing a letter to her new guardian (Madame Cheron, that lovely lady) to let her know what went down with St. Aubert.
  • Madame Cheron sends a servant to help bring her back to La Vallée, but Emily wants to take a few more days to rest up.
  • Before Emily leaves for good, she wants to visit her father's grave entirely alone.
  • This means waiting until midnight, when no one sane wants to go to a cemetery alone. Emily's a special flower.
  • A nun warns Emily that she must pass a newly opened grave to get over to her dad's grave. Okay, getting a little creepy.
  • Yep, it's definitely creepy. Emily thinks she sees a shadow following her, but it's probably her imagination.
  • But she makes it out alive and starts on the long journey back home.
  • Back at La Vallée, she catches up with her favorite (and only) maid, Theresa, and recites a sonnet to commemorate her beloved dad.
  • Theresa tells Emily that their old friend and neighbor Barreaux was particularly devastated by St. Aubert's death. He sent over a pheasant for Emily to eat for dinner, because he's thoughtful like that.