Landscapes and Nature
Ann Radcliffe is famous for her skillfulness in descriptions of nature. Many readers are surprised to find that much of the novel is focused not on scenes of terror or suspense, but beautiful evocations of landscape. Emily is highly sensitive to natural beauty, and responds in an artistic fashion, often being inspired to write poetry. Radcliffe was writing during a time period overlapping with the literary period known as Romanticism, during which many famous poets (for example, Wordsworth and Shelley) were deeply inspired by the natural world around them, and wrote poetry in response to it. Radcliffe's choice of setting the novel in France and Italy also meant that many of her British readers were curious to hear about places they might aspire to visit and think of as beautiful and exotic.
The Masked Ball at Madame Clairval's Estate
During Emily's time at Tholouse, she and her aunt attend a masked ball at the fashionable home of Madame Clairval. The ball is very stylish and opulent, showing glamorous French aristocrats living a life of indulgence. This imagery is quite different from the imagery at other estates: life at La Vallee is portrayed as modest and virtuous, while life at Udolpho and Chateau Le Blanc is often gloomy and mysterious. The imagery here reflects the different genre: this portion of the novel focuses on the courtship between Emily and Valancourt, and the obstacles posed by family members and economic concerns. The sparkling, fashionable imagery of fancy costumes and luxurious dinners reflects a shift in tone for this portion of the novel. It also allows Radcliffe the opportunity to highlight stereotypes and assumptions about French fashion and luxury, which would have been appealing for English individuals to read about.
The Gothic Castle
The genre of Gothic literature is closely associated with castles or other ancient houses, often in a state of ruin or decay, where secrets and mysteries lurk in an ominous atmosphere. The castle of Udolpho is depicted with a great deal of imagery in order to evoke its gloomy, foreboding atmosphere; the use of this imagery is important because the reader needs to get a vivid sense of why it is terrifying for Emily to be isolated in the castle. The title of the novel also sets up a promise to the reader that the castle will be striking and important to the plot, so the vividness of the imagery has to deliver on that promise. This significance is heightened because Emily does not glimpse Udolpho until nearly halfway through the novel, and so expectations have risen by that point in the plot.
Venice
Emily is initially miserable to be forced to go to Italy and leave Valancourt behind. However, almost in spite of herself, she is awestruck by the beauty and the festive environment around her. The glamor of Venice is depicted through careful imagery, which is all the more striking given that Radcliffe never visited Italy. The imagery of Venice plays a number of important functions in the novel. It would likely satisfy a voyeuristic curiosity for many readers, since Venice was an intriguing and desirable destination to visit, but in the late 18th century, it was still quite difficult to travel extensively. The imagery also shows how Emily is in danger of being seduced by the glamorous world around her: even though she is devoted to Valancourt, and misses her life in France, she starts to lose herself in the world around her.
