ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The novel, set in 1584 in Southern France and Northern Italy, explores the plight of Emily St. Aubert, a young French woman orphaned by the death of her father. She is imprisoned in Castle Udolpho by Signor Montoni, an Italian brigand who has married her aunt and guardian Madame Cheron.

Detailed explanation-2: -Fear is a coping mechanism for The Mysteries of Udolpho’s heroine, who knows that half the battle is knowing the enemy. If the enemy happens to be the thing behind the black veil, so be it. Em would rather faint than face up to her worst fears, but we actually get where she’s coming from.

Detailed explanation-3: -What Emily saw behind the veil was a human figure, partly decayed, but the figure was not real but made of wax. It had been made as a rather gruesome penance for the Marquis of Udolpho, that he should look upon it for a certain time each day in order to receive pardon for his sins.