A Review of The Monk, by Matthew Gregory Lewis

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I read this odd novel because one of my students asked me to supervise his individual study on Gothic Literature, and this 18th century novel (1796) is clearly in the line of descent. All the elements are there: the supernatural, women in distress, corrupt clergy--one in particular is sexually obsessed, plus murder, incest, and torture, and yes, this "lustful and devious" abbot sells his soul to the devil--just ahead of the ecclesiastical authorities. Hellbound he is. Scandalous in its time, The Monk is considered a "masterpiece of Gothic storyteling," and, according to one critic, the novel remains as Coleridge described it, "rich, powerful, and fervid."



Well, I know why The Monk is on the reading list for this individual study--I see the Gothic markers clearly. But, overwrought comes to mind--but then, that is a marker of Gothic fiction as well. Let's just say the Gothic novel does improve over time.



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