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Antonia
Elvira is Leonella’s sister and Antonia’s mother. When she was a young woman, she eloped with the son of a marquis and moved with him to the West Indies. The marriage outraged the marquis, leading him to disown his son and take the couple’s firstborn, a young boy, in retaliation. The marquis claims that the son died, but this is revealed to be untrue: the son—Ambrosio—was left with the Capuchin monks. By the time Elvira and Antonia return to Spain following the death of Elvira’s husband, Ambrosio has no memory of his former life and does not recognize Elvira and Antonia as his immediate family. Though Elvira and Antonia sense that there is something familiar about Ambrosio, they don’t recognize him, either. Elvira loves Antonia and worries about her constantly, fearful that people will take advantage of her innocence. For this reason, she forbids Lorenzo from courting Antonia, and she also forbids Antonia from being alone with Ambrosio. When Elvira witnesses Ambrosio’s attempted rape of Antonia, Ambrosio suffocates Elvira to death to prevent her from disclosing his crime to the public.
Elvira Quotes in The Monk
The The Monk quotes below are all either spoken by Elvira or refer to Elvira. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
‘’Tis a young creature,’ said she, ‘who is totally ignorant of the world. She has been brought up in an old castle in Murcia, with no other society than her mother’s, who, God help her! has no more sense, good soul, than is necessary to carry her soup to her mouth. […]’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
‘[…] Artless yourself, you suspect not others of deceit; and viewing the world through the medium of your own truth and innocence, you fancy all who surround you to deserve your confidence and esteem. What pity, that these gay visions must soon be dissipated! What pity, that you must soon discover the baseness of mankind, and guard against your fellow-creatures as against your foes!’
Chapter 5
Quotes
‘I tremble for your sister,’ said she; ‘I have heard many traits of the domina of St Clare’s character from a friend who was educated in the same convent with her: she reported her to be haughty, inflexible, superstitious, and revengeful. […] Though naturally violent and severe, when her interests require it, she well knows how to assume an appearance of benignity. […]’
Chapter 8
Quotes
He reflected on the enormity of the crime, the consequences of a discovery, and the probability, after what had passed, of Elvira’s suspecting him to be her daughter’s ravisher. On the other hand it was suggested, that she could do more than suspect; that no proofs of his guilt could be produced; that it would seem impossible for the rape to have been committed without Antonia’s knowing when, where, or by whom; and finally, he believed that his fame was too firmly established to be shaken by the unsupported accusations of two unknown women. The latter argument was perfectly false. He knew not how uncertain is the air of popular appease, and that a moment suffices to make him to-day the detestation of the world, who yesterday was its idol. The result of the monk’s deliberations was, that he should proceed in his enterprise.
Chapter 9
Quotes
Ambrosio shuddered at himself when he reflected on his rapid advances in iniquity. The enormous crime which he had just committed, filled him with real horror. The murdered Elvira was continually before his eyes, and his guilt was already punished by the agonies of his conscience. Time, however, considerably weakened these impressions: one day passed away; another followed it, and still not the least suspicion was thrown upon him. Impunity reconciled him to his guilt. He began to resume his spirits; and as his fears of detection died away, he paid less attention to the reproaches of remorse.
She paused. The abbot shuddered when she mentioned Elvira. Antonia imputed his emotion to pity and concern for her.
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Elvira Quotes in The Monk
The The Monk quotes below are all either spoken by Elvira or refer to Elvira. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
‘’Tis a young creature,’ said she, ‘who is totally ignorant of the world. She has been brought up in an old castle in Murcia, with no other society than her mother’s, who, God help her! has no more sense, good soul, than is necessary to carry her soup to her mouth. […]’
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
‘[…] Artless yourself, you suspect not others of deceit; and viewing the world through the medium of your own truth and innocence, you fancy all who surround you to deserve your confidence and esteem. What pity, that these gay visions must soon be dissipated! What pity, that you must soon discover the baseness of mankind, and guard against your fellow-creatures as against your foes!’
Chapter 5
Quotes
‘I tremble for your sister,’ said she; ‘I have heard many traits of the domina of St Clare’s character from a friend who was educated in the same convent with her: she reported her to be haughty, inflexible, superstitious, and revengeful. […] Though naturally violent and severe, when her interests require it, she well knows how to assume an appearance of benignity. […]’
Chapter 8
Quotes
He reflected on the enormity of the crime, the consequences of a discovery, and the probability, after what had passed, of Elvira’s suspecting him to be her daughter’s ravisher. On the other hand it was suggested, that she could do more than suspect; that no proofs of his guilt could be produced; that it would seem impossible for the rape to have been committed without Antonia’s knowing when, where, or by whom; and finally, he believed that his fame was too firmly established to be shaken by the unsupported accusations of two unknown women. The latter argument was perfectly false. He knew not how uncertain is the air of popular appease, and that a moment suffices to make him to-day the detestation of the world, who yesterday was its idol. The result of the monk’s deliberations was, that he should proceed in his enterprise.
Chapter 9
Quotes
Ambrosio shuddered at himself when he reflected on his rapid advances in iniquity. The enormous crime which he had just committed, filled him with real horror. The murdered Elvira was continually before his eyes, and his guilt was already punished by the agonies of his conscience. Time, however, considerably weakened these impressions: one day passed away; another followed it, and still not the least suspicion was thrown upon him. Impunity reconciled him to his guilt. He began to resume his spirits; and as his fears of detection died away, he paid less attention to the reproaches of remorse.
She paused. The abbot shuddered when she mentioned Elvira. Antonia imputed his emotion to pity and concern for her.
