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Loading... The Monk (Oxford World's Classics) (original 1796; edition 2008)by Matthew Lewis, Emma McEvoy (Editor)
Work InformationThe Monk by Matthew Lewis (1796)
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Gothic fiction cannot get better than this ( ) The biggest flaw of this Gothic horror story for me was the somewhat dated style of writing (similar to that of Defoe). I think the creepiest part may have been the very end, in which the Spanish Inquisition is investigating Ambrosio (the monk) - partly because I suspect some of the tortures described may have been really used during this period of history! I could quickly see why this book fell into disrepute during the early Victorian times, as it includes somewhat graphic (if flowery) descriptions of carnal sins and horrifying tortures. I did have to chuckle a few times at the very English repugnance of Catholics that showed in some of the descriptions! And I could see why authors such as Jane Austen parodied this type of melodrama. However, I was surprised by the fact that Ambrosio wasn't painted as entirely evil & his struggles with his conscience were sometimes quite moving. Perhaps no other novel written in the 18th century ever described the pangs of post-nut clarity with such acuity; the vehement disgust Ambrosio has for liberties all too recently indulged in is incredible. He is a man forever unsatisfied, but he is too proud and vain to ever take a step outside of the circuitry of desire once he gives himself over to it — his verbose pleadings and moralisings after committing various heinous acts only ever come off as smokescreens thrown up to conceal his own lack of self-reflection. Lewis probably deserves to be in conversations relating to Sade/Bataille, but I imagine that his work would only need to be briefly touched upon in the grand scheme of transgressive literature. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inContainsHas the adaptationIs parodied inHas as a studyNotable Lists
Classic Literature.
Fiction.
HTML: The Monk: A Romance tells of the spectacular downfall of a Spanish monk. Ambroio lusts for the woman Matilda, who is disguised as a monk, but once he has had her he becomes infatuated with the innocent Antonia. This novel was the first to villainize a priest, and has all the trappings of the Gothic novel, including ruined castles, rape, incest, demonic contracts and the Spanish Inquisition. Lewis wrote the novel in ten weeks at the age of 19. .No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.7Literature English English fiction Early 19th century 1800-37LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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