earlymoderngothic: Then was it that, surrounded by mouldering bodies, I dared to perform those mysti
earlymoderngothic: Then was it that, surrounded by mouldering bodies, I dared to perform those mystic rites which summoned to my aid a fallen Angel. (The Monk, p. 267)I completely forgot to update my reading challenge photos! Here are some from when I was re-reading The Monk (1796) last week.This is one of my favourite Gothic novels because it’s completely wild. It has everything you’d ever want in a Gothic novel: witchcraft, Catholicism, ghosts, the Spanish Inquisition, murder, and the Devil. Lewis leaned heavily into parody, filling the pages with dark humour and moments of melodrama, and that makes it a very fun book to read. It’s also a book that explores some of the darkest taboo subjects, so readers beware.I wrote a lot about The Monk in my PhD thesis, exploring Lewis’ depiction of spiritual despair and abject horror in the space of the Faustian pact and his portrayal of violent, sexually liberated young women as witches or demons. I always had fun when I was writing about The Monk and it remains one of my favourite Gothic novels today. -- source link