Natural Woman: Anne Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho

Female authorship during the 18th century provides a complicated discourse for the role of women in arts and literature and this role's reflection on the societal struggles of women at this time. Throughout numerous works written by female writers a tension exists between the creative integrity of the author and what is deemed acceptable for them to write. In many of these writings this tension materializes through the use of dichotomous realms, virtues, and ideals. One such female writer, Anne Radcliffe, uses Gothic literary traditions and welds them into a subtly subversive work in The Mysteries of Udolpho. The role of patriarchy and the dominance of women are extremely prevalent in Gothic literature as a whole, so is the supernatural realm. Radcliffe utilizes these traditions and rebelliously transforms their roles to fit into the dichotomy of female and male, using it as a social commentary on the oppression of women and the female mind. In this novel the roles of the supernatural realm pairs up with all that is manmade and fabricated, as they are all first constructed in the minds of man, and then manifested into some kind of reality.

In The Mysteries of Udolpho, the manmade and the supernatural are all sources of anxiety, fear, and anguish for the protagonist, Emily, so are the men around her. However, the natural realm acts as a source of comfort to her, the same type of comfort she seeks and occasionally receives from her only female companions, Madame Montoni and Annette. Therefore a metaphor is constructed with the natural realm acting as a source of feminine power and the manmade, supernatural realms acting as a source of patriarchal control.

First, the correlation between the supernatural and manmade must be drawn. The connection lies in the rationale that is utilized, mostly by Emily, to explain away supernatural happenings. In Gothic novels written by men, the supernatural is seen as a realm that con not be explained. Radcliffe, as well as other women writers, incorporate the supernatural in their works in order to incite fear, but always counter it with some sort of logical explanation; therefore making it a product of one's own imagination or manmade. One such example of this is as follows:
While she stepped thoughtfully along, she fancied she heard a low moaning at no great distance, and having paused a moment, she heard it again and distinctly….Convulsive sobs followed, and then piercing accents of an agonizing spirit burst forth. Emily stood appalled and looked through the gloom, that surrounded her, in fearful expectation…While she hesitated she thought she knew this voice, disguised as it was by tones of grief…Before she reached [the door], the appearance of Madame Montoni, leaning on her dressing table, weeping with a handkerchief…(258).

Circumstance is what explained this case of unwarranted fear away; however in other situations it is Emily, herself, who undermines any superstitions about the castle. She uses her own rationale to calm not only her fears, but the fears of her servant Annette as well. As Annette describes a supposed spirit that roams the castle, Emily asks if anyone spoke to her. When Annette exclaims astonishment at this prospect, Emily simply replies, "But what reason had they to conclude it was a spirit, unless they had approached and spoken to it"(238). Although she later begins to fear that such a spirit exists, it is this line of rational thinking that she continues to cling to throughout the novel to defend herself from these unnatural fears. Emily's reasoning against the unnatural is Radcliffe's way of undermining the "masculine" forces that continue to terrorize Emily throughout the story.

By comparing supernaturalism to the manmade a physical presence is established. There is a strong correlation between the supernatural fears that are conjured in people's head and the physical space around them. This is especially true for Emily and the others in her party, as the physical space around her is described as, "mouldreing walls of dark grey stone…a gloomy and sublime object" (227). In such a place like this one's fear's can run wild in its vast and empty hallways. In fact, it is the castle at Udolpho that establishes a strong sense of the masculinity and dominance behind the manmade aspects of Emily's oppression. Radcliffe writes that the castle stood, "Silent, lonely and sublime, it seemed to stand sovereign of the scene, and to frown defiance on all who dared to invade its solitary reign"(227). The domination of the castle is so great that entering its walls make Emily feel "as if she was going into her prison" (227). The masculine qualities of the castle are furthered with the descriptions of its towers "that rose above" (228). These towers evoke a very phallic sense, thereby epitomizing masculinity. An poignant connection between the castle and a church is made by Annette when she exclaims, "I suppose I shall see fairies too, hopping about in that great old hall, that looks more like a church, with its huge pillars, than anything else" (231). Religion has long been associated with patriarchy and control, especially over the lives and bodies of women. The association between the castle and the church is fitting because it furthers the relationship between the castle and its patriarchal domination over the lives of the women inside its walls. The "huge pillars" described also reinforce the phallic symbolism found within the castle.

The purest form of masculine domination over Emily lies within the cruel behavior of Montoni. His short temper and unrelenting control over Emily cause her much grief. However, it is not him alone that crushes her spirit, it is a combination of her surroundings and her fears of the supernatural that come together to torment her. In order to receive some solace, Emily searches for comfort in her female companions. She often wishes for Annette to be in her company whilst she was afraid, and repeatedly tries to establish some sort of relationship with her aunt in light of their concurrent misery under the rule of Montoni. Madame Montoni shares in Emily's hatred of Montoni, made evident by the following encounter, "Madame Montoni made several attempts at conversation, but his sullen answers repulsed her…"(230). However, any amount of kindness and solidarity Emily finds in her aunt is soon dashed asunder because: Misfortune had somewhat conquered the asperities of Madame Montoni's temper, and by increasing her cares for herself, had taught her to feel in some degree for other, the capricious love of rule…she could not deny herself the gratification of tyrannizing over the innocent and helpless Emily. (243)

The bitterness of Madame Montoni's life and domination by her husband force her to turn against one of her only allies; therefore leaving Emily to fend for herself. It is in this loneliness that Emily searches for some other sort of comfort or power and discovers it within the natural world surrounding her.

Unlike the manmade, patriarchal, supernatural realm that Emily exists in the natural world represents a world just outside of Emily's reach. She looks to it longingly from her "prison" and its beauty and naturalness allow her to overcome some of her grief. The language used to describe the view from her castle is beautiful and awe-inspiring, just like the view itself, "…her sight wandered over the cliffs and woods into the valley, along which foamed a broad a rapid stream, seem falling among the crags of an opposite mountain, now flashing in the sunbeams, and now shadowed by over arching pines till it was entirely concealed by their thick foliage"(241). Emily receives power from these images, as Radcliffe writes, "She raised her thoughts in prayer, which she always most disposed to do, when viewing the sublimity of nature, and her mind recovered strength" (242). The word sublime is used several times in reference to Emily's viewing and feelings toward nature. Its literary meaning is to transport out of one's own realm, and in her case that is exactly what it does. She finds solace and comfort and strength, many things one finds in their mother. The relationship between women and nature goes further than merely this comparison; women have a stronger connection with nature, as they have monthly cycles guided by the moon and experience the most natural act of all, childbirth. Furthermore, many love poems have been written inspired by the beauty and seduction of women. The same can be said for nature; William Wordsworth, for example, dedicated much of his poetry honoring nature and its sublime beauty. In fact, art works of all kinds have been dedicated to the awesome and inspiring power and beauty of both women and nature. Therefore the ability of Emily to find power in nature marks her ability to find power within herself.

Anne Radcliffe story of a struggling female in a patriarchal world marks her own struggle as an artist and an intellectual restricted by the constraints of her femininity. The Mysteries of Udolpho examines this conflict through the covering veil of the aforementioned metaphors. By doing so her work was read and accepted in her time; yet her underlying messages are there for the taking, if one simply looks beyond just the words.