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The Failure of Gothic

The document summarizes themes from the novel "The Monk" by Matthew Lewis. It discusses how the main character, Ambrosio, starts as a respected monk but becomes a murderer as he breaks his vows and commits atrocious crimes. Another theme is the condemnation of disguise. The article also analyzes Ambrosio's evolution from being accused of severity and ruthlessness to others, to being encouraged to be merciless by Matilda, which leads him to further deviation from his duties. In the end, Ambrosio sells his soul to the devil due to the pressure of guards' arrival and the devil's words that God will never forgive him.

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Andreea Maria
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42 views1 page

The Failure of Gothic

The document summarizes themes from the novel "The Monk" by Matthew Lewis. It discusses how the main character, Ambrosio, starts as a respected monk but becomes a murderer as he breaks his vows and commits atrocious crimes. Another theme is the condemnation of disguise. The article also analyzes Ambrosio's evolution from being accused of severity and ruthlessness to others, to being encouraged to be merciless by Matilda, which leads him to further deviation from his duties. In the end, Ambrosio sells his soul to the devil due to the pressure of guards' arrival and the devil's words that God will never forgive him.

Uploaded by

Andreea Maria
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Failure of Gothic

Problems of Disjunction in an Eighteenth-century Literary Form 5 Cross-purposes:The Monk


In this article are listed the main themes of the novel The Monk(a few of them),and some representative scenes from the novel.One of the main themes is described on the scene when Mother St Ursula,during the Process of St Clare reveals the dangers where are exposed the women inside the monastery,as she sais: who falls under the sway of a monastic Tyrant,her voice appears to be one of the main themes of the novel.She also reveals the death of Agnes but later we found that actually she is alive,thanks to her brother,Lorenzo. The article highlights his disapproval about the superstition which domined Madrids residents,and his desire to revenge the death of his sister Agnes,and to and to enlighten the population of Madrid,about the hypocrites from Monastery St Clare. The second character discussed in the article is the main character of the novel,the Monk Ambrosio.From a respectable monk he becomes a murder,and because of his reputation his crimes becomes more atrocious.He becomes scared and he looks more devoted to Heaven after he breaks his vows.After he rapes Antonia,he calls himself an Hypocrite , an assasin , a betrayer, a Monster of cruelty,lust and ingratitude, being the first sin,that makes the devil charge him at the end of the novel.Another theme that the article reveals is the apparent condemnation of disguise a theme that Lewis uses in his later works: that of sympathy or mercy. Then is presented the evolution of the friar and a short characterization.First the friar is accused of severity,sadism and the fact that he is ruthless with others mistakes. Matilda is the one who encourages him to be merciless with Agnes, considering his position and his proud as a monk, and to kill Antonia and maybe Matilda is responsible for Ambrosios deviation from his duty.In the end Ambrosios forgivness is still possible but devils words that the friar will never be forgive by God,and the pressure of guards arrival,force him to sign the contract through Ambrosio sells his soul to the devil.Ambrosios failure and the impossibility of forgivness makes him to remember Agness entreaty and his merciless against her. As a conclusion the article highlights Lewiss moral message, themes used by the writer in his later tragedies and his techniques used in building of the characters from The Monk. Student: Boroeanu Maria Andreea(Japoneza-Engleza)

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