Paper Summary:

Published in 1796, "The Monk", by Matthew Gregory Lewis, became the object of significant public scrutiny and caused much controversy due to the unedifying light in which it portrayed mainstream religion - specifically, Catholicism. This paper examines how "The Monk" is punctured with constant reminders of the tragedy that ensues when religious fundamentalism reigns supreme and choices are taken away from individuals and transferred instead to rigid institutions. It discusses how, throughout the book, the reader is presented with images, circumstances and events that purport atrocious evil, but rarely is any goodness represented.

From the Paper:

"As the novel progresses, the monastic life is further critiqued. In particular, Lewis examines the passions deeply embedded in a soul when forced to contend with an unnatural life of solitude and celibacy. These unnatural states of human existence lead to Ambrosio's disturbing and excessive behavior - an outpouring of the sexuality, which has been made to lay dormant for so long. In The Monk, the forces of the supernatural enter the realm of human experience in response to man's excessive erotic drives, as a representation of the forces within himself which he must recognize and struggle with. Ambrosio's drama is in fact the story of his relationship to the imperatives of desire. His tale is one of Eros denied, only to reassert itself with the force of vengeance, to smite him."

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