Archive for The Monk

The Monk

Posted in Observation, Reading with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 25, 2026 by Jarrod Boyle

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Certainly, this is high drama, and skilfully rendered by Mr Lewis. I have not chosen to recount it here for that reason, however. I reproduce it because the breast, probably the only breast Ambrosio has encountered – aside from his mother’s when he was an infant – appears to him as an enigma of overwhelming power.

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The Monk

Posted in Observation, Reading with tags , , , , , , , on February 9, 2026 by Jarrod Boyle

1.

A very literate friend of mine once described The Monk as the most boring book ever forced upon him by an educational institution. Any book that comes to take up that kind of notoriety is often contingent on timing: my friend was 19 when he encountered The Monk, and it may have become his central focus of regret in signing up to study Gothic literature.

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