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Book Review
Sep. 27th, 2020 03:59 pmThe Monk
by Matthew Lewis
This 19th century gothic novel is remarkably lurid for the times. It concerns Ambrosio, a Spanish monk who descends from the heights of religious morality into the depths of depravity, committing rape and murder while maintaining a hypocritical facade of rectitude. along the way, we meet not one but two imperiled women, at least two foolish old women, multiple ghosts, and a pair of dashing heroic cavaliers. And of course there are old gloomy castles and abbeys, dungeons, and tombs.
I enjoyed reading The Monk, mostly for the way it upheld all the features of the gothic novel, was well-paced, and wasn't quite as burdened with the bigotries of its time as other examples of the genre. A heavily anti-monastic anti-catholicism is clearly present, though. British authors of the 19th century really did not like monks. There are some moments of comedy to break the tension, too. I could have done without quite so many insertions of mediocre poetry, though.
by Matthew Lewis
This 19th century gothic novel is remarkably lurid for the times. It concerns Ambrosio, a Spanish monk who descends from the heights of religious morality into the depths of depravity, committing rape and murder while maintaining a hypocritical facade of rectitude. along the way, we meet not one but two imperiled women, at least two foolish old women, multiple ghosts, and a pair of dashing heroic cavaliers. And of course there are old gloomy castles and abbeys, dungeons, and tombs.
I enjoyed reading The Monk, mostly for the way it upheld all the features of the gothic novel, was well-paced, and wasn't quite as burdened with the bigotries of its time as other examples of the genre. A heavily anti-monastic anti-catholicism is clearly present, though. British authors of the 19th century really did not like monks. There are some moments of comedy to break the tension, too. I could have done without quite so many insertions of mediocre poetry, though.
