preview

Nietzsche Said "Whoever Fights Monsters Should See To It

Decent Essays
Open Document
Nietzsche said "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you" (Beyond Good and Evil, 146). Most people are convinced that they are the hero or heroine of a story, but if their motives are impure, selfish, or short sighted; they may very well turn out to be the villain. In the classic gothic novel, The Monk by Matthew Lewis in which several characters’ motives, lives, and deaths become intertwined. Ambrosio’s character proves that no person is incorruptible, while the film directed by Dominik Moll tries to add redemption to the character’s monstrous acts.
In the eighteen-hundreds, when The Monk was first published it was seen as…show more content…
Though neither meant to do harm, they both chose a life of sin and murder (Red Riding Hood’s “husband” ate her grandma) for a triste. While “Red” would have most likely been eaten otherwise, she still gives herself, seemingly happily, to the wolf with little thoughts of anyone else, but herself, displaying her vanity, corresponding to Ambrosio’s egotism with his audience and peers thoughts of him (Carter 110).
The pious and godly man that was Ambrosio tries to make excuses for his behavior and pawns his guilt and judgement onto others. Soon every thought Ambrosio has is not that of a pious man, working for his Lord, but that of a man growing increasingly impatient for his wants; Antonia a young and innocent girl is the first on his list. Accordingly, he faults Elvira for requiring him to sneak into Antonia’s room to defile her, as Elvira has banished him from her home, for his mistreatment of her daughter, Antonia. Therefore, Dr. Jekyll and Ambrosio have very similar ideals about morality. Both seem to think that if no one perceives them as the guilty party, they are free to do as they please, while keeping their consciences clean. Ambrose uses magic to sneak around to defile Antonia secretly and Dr. Jekyll uses science to create an alternate persona to do as he wishes (Stevenson 86). Consequently, he blames Matilda for their dealings in witchcraft, deciding since she is the one who is doing the magic; he is blameless in the
Get Access
Related
Get Access