Character guide

Emily St. Aubert

major

Also known as Emily, Mademoiselle Emily, Charming Emily, Emily St. Aubert, the unhappy Emily, the innocent and helpless Emily

Emily is the devoted daughter of the ailing St. Aubert, raised amid the quiet beauties of La Vallée and taught to value music, poetry, and self-command above fortune. When her father's ruin and death leave her dependent on a cold aunt and then on the predatory Montoni, her delicacy becomes both armor and wound. Her early arc matters because the reader watches a sheltered sensibility learn to endure — and to suspect.

Valancourt

major

Also known as the Chevalier Valancourt, M. La Valancourt, Monsieur Valancourt, the elder Valancourt, the wretched Valancourt, Amiable and unfortunate Valancourt, the benevolent Valancourt

Valancourt meets Emily in the Pyrenees as a fellow traveler of generous feeling and careless purse, and their attachment forms quickly against her father's cautious disapproval. His gambling debts, his brother's influence, and long absences place his constancy under a cloud that Emily cannot resolve. He matters because his letters and remembered tenderness are the emotional thread Emily clings to while imprisoned at Udolpho.

Montoni

major

Also known as Signor Montoni, the Signor Montoni, the selfish Montoni, Julius Caesar Montoni

Montoni enters the story as a suitor for Emily's aunt and quickly reveals himself as a man who values rank, revenue, and command above every affection. His cold authority over Madame Montoni and his designs upon Emily's estates make him the presiding threat of the middle chapters. He matters because his castle, his silence, and his shifting schemes turn Gothic dread into a domestic and legal trap.

Annette

supporting

Also known as the talkative Annette, Shakespeare Annette

Annette serves first Madame Montoni and then Emily, forever stumbling into secrets she half-understands and reporting them with breathless urgency. Her fear of ghosts, her devotion to Ludovico, and her inability to hold her tongue make her a foil to Emily's guarded composure. She matters because her talk carries the reader through Udolpho's corridors, turning servants' whispers into the novel's atmosphere.

Madame Montoni

supporting

Also known as Madame, the late Madame Montoni, Signora Montoni

Madame Montoni is a woman of ostentatious dress and sullen manners who resents her niece's beauty and her own diminished influence over her husband. Her jealousy of Montoni's friends and her grasping concern for property make her both pitiable and petty. She matters because her marriage draws Emily into Montoni's orbit and her fate becomes the first hard lesson in what Udolpho's master is capable of.

Ludovico

supporting

Also known as Poor Ludovico, O Ludovico

Ludovico is the sharp-eyed servant who reads Montoni's grim preparations and the cutthroat strangers gathering at the castle more clearly than anyone else will admit. His willingness to test the haunted room, and his attachment to Annette, mark him as brave where others are merely frightened. He matters because his observations and eventual aid give Emily a rare channel of information and loyalty inside Udolpho's walls.

Blanche

supporting

Also known as the Lady Blanche, Lady Blanche, Blanche Dorothée, Thomson Blanche

As the daughter of the Count de Villefort, Blanche moves within the same genteel French circles that Emily once inhabited, but her temperament is brighter and more openly affectionate. She attaches herself to Emily with an eagerness that is both generous and a little heedless, drawn to a stranger whose sorrows she cannot fully guess. Her loyalty gives Emily a companion in the novel's middle stretch, when isolation and suspicion press hardest, and her presence keeps the possibility of genuine human warmth alive amid the castle's secrets.

St. Aubert

supporting

Also known as Monsieur St. Aubert, the late Monsieur St. Aubert, the calm St. Aubert, Thomson St. Aubert

A retired French gentleman of refined taste, St. Aubert raises Emily in rural seclusion, teaching her to love landscape, music, and moderation rather than society's glitter. His delicacy of conscience makes him recoil from his sister's insensibility and from the worldly Italians he meets at her table, yet he restrains his disgust for Emily's sake. His decline and death in the novel's opening movement strip away her protection, launching her into the custody of relatives and, eventually, the shadow of Udolpho.

Count Morano

supporting

Also known as The Count Morano, Morano, Count

Count Morano is a nobleman of fortune and fashion who fixes his ambitions on Emily while she is still under her aunt's care in Venice, pressing his suit with a confidence that assumes consent. His passion proves self-serving rather than tender: when refused, he turns to bribery and abduction, and even his professions of repentance are, as the narrator notes, really lamentations over his own suffering. His schemes against Montoni and Emily make him a persistent threat through the middle of the book, embodying the dangerous Italian suitor whose desires override the woman's will.

Madame Cheron

minor

Also known as Collins, Collins Madame Cheron

Emily's aunt who later becomes Madame Montoni.

Theresa

minor

Also known as Old Theresa, poor Theresa, the faithful Theresa

The faithful old servant of the St. Aubert family.

Barnardine

minor

Also known as the treacherous Barnardine

A treacherous servant of Montoni who assists in the imprisonment.

Dorothée

minor

Also known as old Dorothée

An old servant at the chateau who reveals secrets to Emily.

Agnes

minor

Also known as sister Agnes, Sister Agnes

A nun who provides shelter and counsel to Emily.

Laurentini

minor

Also known as Signora Laurentini, the Lady Laurentini, Laurentini di Udolpho

The mysterious former owner of Udolpho, whose story is central to the mystery.

Cavigni

minor

Also known as Signor Cavigni, the Signor Cavigni

A friend of Montoni, involved in the intrigues at Udolpho.

Monsieur Du Pont

minor

Also known as Du Pont, M. Du Pont

A gentleman who admires Emily and aids her escape.

Count De Villefort

minor

Also known as De Villefort, the Count De Villefort, Count de Villefort

A nobleman who befriends Emily and hosts her at his chateau.

St. Foix

minor

Also known as Mons. St. Foix, M. St. Foix, the Chevalier St. Foix

A chevalier who marries Blanche.

Old Carlo

minor

Also known as Carlo, Old Carlo

An old servant at the St. Aubert estate.

Bertrand

minor

A servant of Montoni involved in the villainy.

Henri

minor

Also known as the Chevaliers Henri, M. Henri

A young chevalier and friend of Valancourt.

Madame Clairval

minor

A wealthy widow who befriends Valancourt.

Signor Orsino

minor

Also known as Orsino, the subtle Orsino

A sinister associate of Montoni.

Monsieur Quesnel

minor

Also known as M. Quesnel, Quesnel

Emily's uncle by marriage, a cold and practical man.

Signor Verezzi

minor

Also known as Verezzi

One of Montoni's associates.

Marquis de Villeroi

minor

Also known as the late Marquis de Villeroi, the Marquis de Villeroi

The deceased husband of the Marchioness de Villeroi.

Countess De Villefort

minor

Also known as Countess

The wife of Count De Villefort.

Monsieur Barreaux

minor

Also known as a M. Barreaux, the venerable M. Barreaux, Old Monsieur Barreaux

An old gentleman encountered by St. Aubert.

Signora Livona

minor

A friend of Madame Montoni.

Madame Quesnel

minor

Also known as Madame Quesnel Emily, Quesnel

Emily's aunt, married to Monsieur Quesnel, who is unsympathetic to Emily.

Ugo

minor

A rough servant of Montoni.

Michael

minor

Also known as Michael whither

A servant at Udolpho.

Caterina

minor

A servant at the convent.

Bonnac

minor

Also known as Mons. Bonnac, M. Bonnac, Poor Mons

A prisoner of Montoni who shares his story with Emily.

Mademoiselle Bearn

minor

Also known as Mademoiselle d'Emery, a Mademoiselle Bearn

A young lady at the convent.

Marchioness de Villeroi

minor

Also known as the Marchioness, the late Marchioness, the Lady Marchioness de Villeroi

The deceased marchioness whose portrait and story haunt the narrative.

Sister Frances

minor

Also known as Frances

A nun at the convent where Emily stays.

Father Pierre

minor

Also known as Pierre

A priest who appears at the chateau.

Sebastian

minor

A servant at Udolpho.

Hamet

minor

Also known as Poor Hamet

A servant at the chateau of the Count de Villefort.

Launcelot

minor

A servant at the chateau.

Gabriel

minor

A servant of the St. Aubert family.

Baron St. Foix

minor

Also known as Baron, The Baron St. Foix

The father of St. Foix.

Signor Bertolini

minor

Also known as Bertolini

One of Montoni's associates.

Roberto

minor

A servant at the chateau.

Cesario

minor

A servant at Udolpho.

Mademoiselle Feydeau

minor

Also known as a Mademoiselle Feydeau

A young lady at the convent.

Mary

minor

Also known as sister Mariette, old Mary

A servant at the convent.

Benedetto

minor

Also known as Mr. Benedetto

A servant at Udolpho.

Jacques

minor

A servant at the chateau.

Jean

minor

A servant at the chateau.

Monsieur Motteville

minor

Also known as a M. Motteville, M. de Motteville

A gentleman mentioned in the narrative.

Manchon

minor

A servant at the chateau.

Utaldo

minor

A servant at Udolpho.

Dorina

minor

A servant at the chateau.

Old Gregoire

minor

An old servant at the chateau.