The theme of unspeakable desires is explored in the book on several occasions. The gothic novels were usually the only way for people to express unspeakable desires as people often felt embarrassed about telling others about them. The first unspeakable desire is when Ambrosio finds out that Rosario is actually a girl named Matilda – “I am a woman!” Matilda then goes on to say that she loves Ambrosio – “What I feel for you is love.” Ambrosio becomes sexually attracted to Matilda and the two of them eventually have sex – “Ambrosio’s lust was satisfied.” The monk had broken his vow of celibacy. Ambrosio then goes on to have rape a young woman named Antonia, this woman turns out to be the monk’s sister; he had committed incest.
Monsters and the monstrous were a part of the gothic genre as they were a very effective way of scaring the reader. There are two types of monsters that feature in gothic novels; the ‘real’ monsters for example Frankenstein and Dracula and the monsters we become; Mr Hyde from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for example. The only ‘real’ monster to feature in the novel is the demon that Ambrosio summoned to escape being burnt at the stake. The demon was described as this – “His blasted limbs still bore marks of the Almighty's thunder: A swarthy darkness spread itself over his gigantic form: His hands and feet were armed with long Talons.” This very vivid description would most likely shock the reader as at the time of writing demon’s and the supernatural were important issues, this makes the effect of the description on the reader even greater as they were relevant issues to the time when the novel was written and many people of that period were very frightened of the supernatural. In the whole of the novel Ambrosio is the person that becomes a monster; he beings as a very well liked Capuchin superior – “All Madrid rings with his praises”, however; his persona then changes as he begins to commit several lewd. He begins with having sex with his pupil Matilda; breaking his vow of celibacy; after this he then rapes and kills another woman he had become sexually attracted to; Antonia; who later turned out to be his sister. After he had done all of these terrible things he then sells his soul to a demon to try and escape the punishment that he deserves; the character of Ambrosio fell from being a well respected man of god to a rapist, murderer and being in league with the devil.
Gore and graphic description was a key aspect of gothic novels as it was used to shock and scare the reader, when used correctly it could be very effective. The gory parts in ‘The Monk’ were the numerous murders, the story of the bleeding nun and Abrossio’s death. The murders in the novel were described very vividly in the book making it even more shocking for the reader. For example, the murder of Elvira – “The monk continued to kneel upon her breast, witnessed without mercy the convulsive trembling of her limbs beneath him”. Ambrosio’s death was particularly graphic and gory; this was most likely due to the fact that he was the villain in the novel - “Headlong fell the monk through the airy waste; the sharp point of a rock received him; and he rolled from precipice, till, bruised and mangled, he rested on the river’s banks.” This description would have most certainly shocked a reader of its time as it is very graphic and clearly depicts Ambrosio’s unpleasant death. The readers of the time would have been able to easily imagine what was happening to Ambrosio as he fell to his death.
In conclusion, ‘The Monk’ is gothic because it contains many key aspects of a gothic novel; it explores the supernatural, demonic pacts, rape, incest, unspeakable desires, monsters, violence and gore.
