How Does Lewis Create Tension In The Monk

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis uses vividly gory imagery of a monk’s incest, rape and murder to argue that any man could be led to a sinful life. It is debated oftentimes that the most innocent people are the guilty ones. The plot demonstrates tension between the church and sin because there is an expectation of purity for someone in Ambrosio’s position.  The Monk uses historical background to emphasize sexual repression leading to sin, especially within religious devotees. Additionally, The Monk exemplifies sinful lives being driven from believing that God exists, but not acting upon it.

    The Monk begins with Ambrosio, one of the most distinguished and virtuous monks in the city, teaching to the church. In this moment, he falls in love

with a listener named Antonia. After preaching, Ambrosio converses with Antonia and Lorenzo, her love. Matilda, a demon, disguises herself as Rosario to enter the monastery and curse him by convincing Ambrosio to use dark magic and supernatural forces to fall into lust. As Ambrosio sneaks into Antonia’s room for the rape, her mother awakens from a bad dream and runs into her room. She catches him in the act and is horrified, calling for help. Ambrosio goes into panic and suffocates the mother to death. Ambrosio hides the evidence and proceeds to take Antonia into a dark hidden room of the basement. After the rape, Ambrosio murders her to prevent anyone from finding out about his crimes. Antonia’s love, Lorenzo, comes to tell her the good news that they have been given consent to be wedded, yet finds out that he is too late. Ambrosio then finds out that the two people he just murdered were his mother and sister. Ambrosio’s body is dragged to hell.
    The first point leading to the argument that anyone can be led to a sinful life is that the monk would be the last person expected to commit these horrible acts.

Because the monk, Ambrosio, was one of the highest distinguished religious leaders, the most innocent people may be the guilty ones. As a monk, one of his main goals would have been to live a perfect life of service and peace. In this novel, the monk was raised by Capuchins and supposedly obtained “singular holiness” (Gonda 1). Lorenzo describes that Ambrosio “is reported to be so strict an observer of Chastity, that he knows not in what consists the difference of man and woman” (Lewis 16). Therefore, Lorenzo is testifying to Ambrosio’s moral purity by declaring that Ambrosio does not even notice the difference in males and females. Ambrosio’s devotion to God should have prevented all situations in which he put himself. Furthermore, because all logic reasoning would make others believe Ambrosio’s innocence, it proves that appearance can not determine someone’s character. While people could not see his true desires, God saw this his false cover. An innocent appearance does not mean an innocent heart. True nature takes development of relationships to completely judge. That being said, the theme of religious hypocrisy and corruption is present. Because the story takes place in a monastery, the hypocrisy and corruption are emphasized by the setting.The church seems magnificent, while hiding heinous offenses. This

leads to the point that many followers believed, but were not devoted enough to act as God hoped.  God did not drive enough spiritual passion for people to readily do His work and follow Him at all times. In the story, Matilda says God is present as He “strikes fear into men’s hearts, but does not move them to alliance and worship,” when at one time he had set a “moral principle eliciting love, worship and respect” (Brooks 251). This shows that not even religion can prevent a sinful life, while religion teaches morals.
Brooks, the author of “Virtue and Terror: The Monk,” finds that because the monk chooses to stray away from religion, he draws near to the idea of supernatural forces that are present during the Victorian period. Supernatural elements are apparent as soon as Matilda uses black magic to persuade Ambrosio to seduce Antonia. Matilda used twisted words and relation to God as a way of fooling Ambrosio. She said that “unnatural were your vows of celibacy; man was not created for such a state; and were love a crime, God never would have made it so sweet, so irresistible” (Lewis 238). The monk strayed away from his beliefs in temptation because with supernatural powers he could get what he really wanted, sex. It is human nature to do whatever one can to achieve what one wants. Part of the unwillingness to follow full God heartedly in actions comes from  “sexual repression on the part of religious devotees” was evident to this time period (Brackett 1). Because of its accuracy and rather scandalous details, unlike the other gothic novels of the time, Lewis had to revise the novel when it was banned from production in 1796. After this issue, Lewis did not try to explain the reason for his gruesome horror story. Therefore, Lewis used the imagery to show the reader that Ambrosio’s human nature caused his attraction of supernatural forces.
Another reason that The Monk proves anyone can be turned to sin is because he committed these crimes against his own family member. Brackett notes that Ambrosio’s response to the sexual repression led to his “self-destruction” (Brackett 1). He not only discovered that he violently killed his mother and sister, but sold his soul to the devil.  After his self-destruction, he believes his situation can be resolved without consequence. Ambrosio assumes he will be returned to his “mortal soul” when he repents (Brackett 1). Despite this belief, he is publicly shamed through execution and is carried off by demons that throw his broken body in rocks where it is “attacked by myriads of insects who drink his blood, followed by eagles that tear his flesh, digging his eyeballs from his socket” (Brackett 2). This validates the understanding that immortality does not exist. In the end, Ambrosio continues to have lustful desires and want more women. Because his sinful life has no change in his ways, tt also shows that Ambrosio’s lack of morality at the time does not go unpunished.
R.R. says the “fairest face and semblance of virtue is commonly a cloak to the most horrible crimes” (RR 1). Therefore, no one is expecting the monk to act on these crimes because his devotion to God specifically instructs against murder and premarital sex, especially rape. It says to honor your father and mother, yet he kills his mother. The bible says to provide and take care of others around you, yet he defiantly did the opposite. He committed these crimes in the monastery where actions were supposed to be more pure than anywhere else. Though sexual repression was evident in monasteries, the purpose of The Monk was not to “offend British Clergy,” but express that “impregnable virtue is not proof against the attractions” of the world. (Gonda 1).    
    Lewis conveys to the reader that the main character acted out of temporary weakness as a result of attraction.

Because of the sexual repression, females were forbidden from entering monasteries. This is the reasoning for Matilda dressing as Rosario. She then “transforms into the stereotypical temptress” (Brackett 1). This deception could have fooled anyone that she approached. After being cursed, the situation could not be turned around. The monk, Ambrosio, gives into his attraction so deeply through “sorcery, rape, incest, and murder” (Gonda 1). The Monk displays Lewis’s vivid descriptions of the acts when sharing Ambrosio raping Antonia “in a vault among the decomposing corpses of nuns” (Gonda 1). Therefore, no matter how holy someone may seem, they are human and may fall into temptation that results in punishment or

damnation.
       Because of Ambrosio’s devout commitment to the church, no one expected for him to have this dramatic shift to sin through lust and supernatural powers. Ambrosio chose to follow his temptation, taking a path of rape, incest, and murder. The fact that the plot took place in this monastery gives the idea of hypocrisy and sexual repression from religious devotees.
Though people believed he was truly innocent and holy, Ambrosio proved that an outward appearance of innocence does not reflect your heart’s desires. Therefore, if religion and morals cannot control the actions of someone, it is nearly impossible for anyone to obtain a lifestyle without sin.