Caleb Williams The Monk Analysis

Reform Ideology through Representations of the Banditti in Caleb Williams and The Monk

During the 1790s, the French Revolution transformed Europe into an environment of political turmoil. The destitution and injustice experienced by members of unprivileged classes inspired widespread social rebellion. Desperate for a sense of national security, philosophers and politicians introduced reform ideologies. Government reform is a central theme in eighteenth century literature; Gothic novelists react to political propositions in their fiction. William Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794) and Matthew G. Lewis’s The Monk (1796) express opposing perspectives regarding social and political change. The novelists analyze antithetical reform ideology through their portrayal of the banditti.

In Caleb Williams, Godwin represents French revolutionaries as the banditti to express his support of the defiance occurring throughout the country. The novelist declares his sympathy for citizens in an oppressive position by characterizing the banditti as a

He claims that government institutions force unprivileged classes to sacrifice their human rights for the benefit of aristocrats. Raymond describes anarchism when he declares “Law is not the proper instrument of correcting the misdeeds of mankind” (Godwin 216). Godwin reasons that legal systems have proven to be incapable of equally applying laws to every citizen. He suggests that citizens overthrow the government to live in a state of natural humanity. After Raymond explains anarchism, the thieves claim that they will protect Williams “at the hazard of [their] lives” (Godwin 217). When Raymond removes the influence of government from the thieves’ perspectives, they adopt an altruistic, community-based mindset. They are capable of relying on human compassion to promote morality and stability without the legal restrictions of the