The Monk
Matthew Gregory Lewis’ The Monk (1796) is a Gothic tale that follows the monk Ambrosio who was left at the doorsteps of the monastery when he was a child. The monk gets sent down a path of temptation and sin fueled by Matilda, who is in league with Satan. Blinded by temptation, he ends up murdering his mother, Elvira, raping his sister, Antonia, and selling his soul to the devil, which leads to his ultimate demise. However, a tale of sin and temptation places taboo on women’s sexuality and punishes them for their sexual transgressions. I will compare the representations of the characters Antonia and Matilda and their attitudes toward sexuality. My inquiry will suggest that it is not sexual knowledge (or lack thereof) that punishes or rewards women but rather the patriarchal forces that prohibit women from having sexual desires in the Romantic era.
Lewis presents Antonia as the "model of chaste perfection" (Viegas-Monchamp 68), yet her purity does not prevent her from becoming the target of Ambrosio's sexual male gaze. Antonia is an attractive young woman who is incredibly naïve and innocent. Her virtuousness shows when she states that she does not know the difference between the anatomical differences between the male and female body, like Ambrosio. However, when this topic arises, Antonia's aunt, Leonella, exclaims, "These are not fit subjects for young Women to handle. You should not seem to remember that there is such a thing as a Man in the world, and you ought to imagine every body to be of the same sex with yourself" (Lewis 12). The knowledge of the male's anatomy is purposefully withheld from Antonia so as not to taint her purity.
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Viegas-Monchamp argues, "The text promotes Antonia's sexual innocence and vulnerability as desirable traits; she is an object of sexual desire because her inexperience makes her accessible to men who would seduce her" (Viegas-Monchamp 69). Antonia's sexual innocence is precisely what makes her irresistible to Ambrosio. Her purity is so seductive that Ambrosio goes to great lengths to drug and rape her. However, once Ambrosio commits this crime, Antonia, "who so lately had been the object of his adoration, now raised no other sentiment in his heart than aversion and rage" (Lewis 264). Ambrosio blames Antonia for seducing him into committing such a crime and eventually murders her. Viegas-Monchamp further argues that the "reason for destroying its feminine ideal in Antonia is because she becomes 'defiled': she no longer functions as the embodiment of perfect femininity, and therefore, her usefulness to the text ends" (Viegas-Monchamp 77). Lewis sets Antonia as the virtuous persecuted heroine who lacks sexual knowledge; however, once she loses her sexual purity, she loses her attractiveness and therefore is removed from the narrative. Through the character of Antonia, Lewis showcases that young women are only attractive when they are sexually inexperienced, thus mimicking the values held in the Romantic era. However, the text also showcases that Antonia was not responsible for her fate. Instead, the atrocities were done to her by a patriarchal force, displaying the women's lack of control over their own bodies and sexuality.
Next, the character of Matilda is a rather interesting one. Lewis displays women’s sexual desires through Matilda but then reveals her as a demon to suggest that women with sexual urges are monsters. At first, Ambrosio is attracted to Matilda because she resembles the religious figure of the Virgin Mary; however, as she charms Ambrosio to break his vows of chastity, he quickly loses interest in her, just as he did with Antonia. However, Matilda transforms from a weak heroine to obtaining power in their relationship; however, Lewis describes Matilda’s power to the likes of a man. Ambrosio realizes this transformation when
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Ambrosio seems to equate gaining sexual knowledge and power with a man, and this quality is what makes Matilda unattractive to Ambrosio. Ambrosio, and perhaps men in the Romantic era, desired women who were submissive and virtuous. These traits defined femininity, and since Matilda behaves the opposite, she is described as becoming masculine and therefore unattractive. Nonetheless, Matilda plays a significant role in Ambrosio’s ultimate demise as she tempts him to make a deal with Satan, thus, gaining power over him once again. Lewis’ demonization of women with sexual desires and knowledge suggests that women are not allowed to possess any sexual knowledge. If they do, then they are not women but demons in disguise! Nevertheless, even though Lewis demonizes Matilda for her sexual knowledge, "we must not ignore the image of the powerful and dominating woman in this heroine at a time when femininity was synonymous with weakness and submissiveness" (Hachmi 113). Lewis’s choice of writing an unconventional, sexually progressive, and dominant female character is a change in the right direction of questioning and re-imagining women’s roles in the Romantic period.
He could not reflect without surprize on the sudden change in Matilda's character and sentiments. But a few days had past since She appeared the mildest and softest of her sex, devoted to his will, and looking up to him as to a superior Being. Now She assumed a sort of courage and manliness in her manners and discourse but ill-calculated to please him. She spoke no longer to insinuate, but command: He found himself unable to cope with her in argument, and was unwillingly obliged to confess the superiority of her judgment. Every moment convinced him of the astonishing powers of her mind: But what She gained in the opinion of the Man, She lost with interest in the affection of the Lover. (Lewis 162)