The Monk

infobox Book |
name = The Monk
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author = Matthew Gregory Lewis
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language = English
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genre = Gothic novel
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release_date = 1796
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media_type = Print (novel)
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"Ambrosio, or the Monk" is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis which first appeared in 1796. It was written before the author turned 20, in the space of 10 weeks.

Plot summary

The story concerns Ambrosio - a pious, well-respected monk in Spain - and his violent downfall. He is undone by carnal lust for his pupil, a woman disguised as a monk (Matilda), who tempts him to transgress, and, once satisfied by her, is overcome with desire for the innocent Antonia. Using magic spells Matilda aids him in seducing Antonia, whom he later rapes and kills. Matilda is eventually revealed as an instrument of Satan in female form, who has orchestrated Ambrosio's downfall from the start. In the middle of telling this story Lewis frequently makes further digressions, which serve to heighten the Gothic atmosphere of the tale while doing little to move along the main plot. A lengthy story about a "Bleeding Nun" is told, and many incidental verses are introduced. A second romance, between Lorenzo and Antonia, also gives way to a tale of Lorenzo's sister being tortured by hypocritical nuns (as a result of a third romantic plot). Eventually, the story catches back up with Ambrosio, and in several pages of impassioned prose, Ambrosio is delivered into the hands of the Inquisition; he escapes by selling his soul to the devil for his deliverance from the death sentence which awaits him. The story ends with the devil preventing Ambrosio's attempted final repentance, and the sinful monk's prolonged torturous death.

Critique

"The Monk" is remembered for being one of the more lurid and "transgressive" of Gothic novels. It is also the first book to feature a priest as the villain. In this respect it would serve as a model for such future works of literature as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

Featuring demonic pacts, rape, incest, and such props as the Wandering Jew, ruined castles, and the Spanish Inquisition, "The Monk" serves more or less as a compendium of Gothic taste. Ambrosio, the hypocrite foiled by his own lust, and his sexual misconduct inside the walls of convents and monasteries, is a vividly portrayed villain, as well as an embodiment of much of the traditional English mistrust of Roman Catholicism, with its intrusive confessional, its political and religious authoritarianism, and its cloistered lifestyles. The American fictitious anti-Catholic libel, "The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk", borrowed much from the plot of this novel. Despite the critics' comments on its crudeness and lack of depth, it proved to be one of the most popular novels of the Romantic Period.

It is among the many Gothic works referenced in the Jane Austen novel "Northanger Abbey".

Adaptations

Verdi had wanted to do an operatic adaptation of the book but was dissuaded on the grounds of its scandalous content.

Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière attempted to film a version of "The Monk" in the 1960s, but the project was halted due to lack of funds. [cite web | url=http://www.radiotimes.com/servlet_film/com.icl.beeb.rtfilms.client.simpleSearchServlet?searchTypeSelect=5&frn=37711 | title=Radio Times - Film Review | publisher=Radio Times | work=www.radiotimes.com | accessdate=2007-04-05] Buñuel's friend, the Greek director Ado Kyrou, used this script as the basis for his 1972 film version. "Le Moine" (English "The Monk") boasted an international cast with Franco Nero in the title role. The film also starred Nathalie Delon, Eliana de Santis, Nadja Tiller and Nicol Williamson. [cite web | url=http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=106094 | title=The Monk (1972) - Channel 4 Film Review | publisher=Film4 | work=www.channel4.com | accessdate=2007-04-05]

In 1990 a film adaptation of "The Monk" was produced by Celtic Films. It starred Paul McGann as the title character, and was written and directed by Francisco Lara Polop. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099609/plotsummary "The Monk" at imdb]

References

External links

* [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/LewMonk.html The Monk]
*gutenberg|no=601|name=The Monk
* [http://www.litcrazy.com/index.php/2007/03/17/essay-on-matthew-lewiss-novel-the-monk/ The Monk, Essay: The Monk and Gothic Tendency]