As some of the pilgrims begin to ascend the mountain, Vivaldi pursues a separate track in his desire for solitude. Upon reaching the convent, he stops at the church and a cave where the shrine is located. Returning to the church, he sees a procession of nuns that includes the latest novitiates. After mistaking another novitiate for Ellena, he finally finds her as she refuses to take her vows. The abbess commands that Ellena be attended by the nuns while summoning Vivaldi to her parlor.

Hoping to awaken her sense of justice and pity, Vivaldi quickly observes that her pride and resentment leaves little room for other sentiments. In turn, the Abbess scolds Vivaldi for disturbing the tranquility of her convent and disrupting the decorum of the church while he accuses her of violating the principles of humanity and justice.

Upon leaving her parlor, Vivaldi decides to ask a friendly-seeming abate to help mitigate her severity. Indolent and lacking perception, the abate refuses out of false prudence. Fearful of being thought to do wrong, he seldom does right, thereby proving himself just as selfish as the more severe and violent abbess.

That evening, as Ellena sits at the window of the turret, she hears music and notices a man perched dangerously on the point of a cliff. It is Vivaldi, who learned from a lay-brother of the convent that Ellena frequently sat in the turret. He urges Ellena to attend the supper at the convent parlor, when many attendees are expected for the high festival. Since every member of the convent will be inevitably occupied by either business or amusement on such a busy evening, it will be easy for Vivaldi, disguised in a pilgrim’s habit, to pass a note to Ellena on the plan for their escape.

Olivia visits her again, urging her to leave the convent as soon as possible, as the abbess plans to imprison her for her conduct at the ceremony and what she perceives as its implied insult. Olivia advises her to attend the concert preceding the supper. Since Ellena dreads the abbess’s discovery, Olivia plans to lend her a black veil.