The Monk: Opening Up the Doors to a Convent and Finding Filth

As I moved out of my apartment this weekend, the last thing I packed was a copy of the Monk by Matthew Lewis. As I picked up the book, my roommate asked, “So what is that book, anyway?”

We are both English majors and neither of us had ever heard of Lewis’s novel before, but apparently it was a sensation when it was first released in 1796. While being relatively unknown to the general public today, lovers of the gothic novel oftentimes hold the Monk up as being THE gothic novel.

"Sin"-opsis
The story is about a widely acclaimed Spanish monk named Ambrosio. To all, he is viewed as being entirely devout to his religion. When he discovers that the man who has become his closest confidant is in fact a woman, he quickly slips into a dark abyss of sorcery, adultery, rape, murder, and incest. He is eventually claimed by Lucifer, and the whole world learns that “vice is ever most dangerous when lurking behind the mask of virtue” (Lewis 64).

"The Monk"

                                         
The Times
Around the time of its release, the view of clergyman and other leaders of religion as being infallible and “holy” devoted to God had begun to corrupt. This book continues to turn those ideals upside down and essentially burns them at the stake, as Ambrosio demonstrates that what was once an indisputable institution has now been discovered to be dangerously corruptible. The publication of this book was especially timely, as people began to turn more to science and discovery than to religion for truth. The factors presented additionally heightened the population's sense of religious insecurity.

Conclusion
As my roommate and I discussed these themes, we concluded that today people continue to be suspicious of anything that cannot be proven, as deceit can be distributed through even the purest motives.

Image Credit: "The Monk" (public domain via Wikipedia)