Customer Reviews

Caleb Williams (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The real question is who committed the crime and who is being punished. This novel is proof to the old saying that the more things change the more they stay the same. The powerful bring down the less powerful then as now. This strongly written novel should be mandatory reading, particularly those interested in writers such as Poe and Dickens. Godwin had great influence on their later writings and was instrumental in the evolution of modern day mysteries and detective stories.

This is another of my text books, and one I found almost impossible to finish. Don't get me wrong, the tale itself is exceedingly compelling. I guess I should try to explain my feelings about this book, which were powerful. Maybe it comes from being an American, and a liberal one at that, or maybe it's in my blood, as my mother says, but I have an over-developed sense of justice, or right and wrong. I cannot tolerate the idea of one person abusing their power to oppress another person. The very thing sickens me to an alarming extent. While reading about the outrageous persecution of poor Caleb, and the willful blindness of the people around him, I actually had a strong desire to punch the book, to literally punch it. I wept with frustration as I witnessed the injustices that the poor young man was made to suffer, and I almost gave up on it completely (while risking a bad grade in my English Romantic Literature class) because I felt that it was ruining my peace of mind.

In terms of the basics, this book has well-developed characters, evocative settings, and the story reads at a furious pace. Many people have reacted in a similar way to this book, and I believe that is the intention of its author. Godwin wanted people to react to this book because he wanted to change the statusquo . Although this book upset me greatly, I have to allow that it did its job. I believe this book is valuable, not only as a piece of great literature, but also as a reminder of the inequalities that still exist in our society today, and of what millions of people suffered at the hands of everyday tyrants not that long ago.

This novel is a forceful combination of political / social / judicial criticism, thriller elements and a powerful investigation into the real nature of man.

Politically, the author castigates the chasm between what one ought to do and reality: `We that are rich must do every thing in our power to lighten the yoke of these unfortunate people. We must not use the advantage that accident has given us with an unmerciful hand.' Nevertheless, `wealth and despotism easily know how to engage those laws as the coadjutor of their oppression, which were perhaps at first intended for the safeguards of the poor.'
Justice is totally biased: `Mr. Falkland is a man of rank and fortune; he is your master. I am a poor country lad without a friend in the world. That is a ground of real difference ...but it is not a sufficient ground for the subversion of justice.'
But, `law has neither eyes, nor ears, nor bowels of humanity; and it turns into marble the hearts of all those that are nursed in its principle.'
Socially, the system is fundamentally corrupt, a synonym for `tyranny and perfidiousness exercised by the powerful members of the community against those who were less privileged than themselves.'

Godwin's vision of the world is pessimistic: `Accursed world! that hates without a cause' that overwhelms innocence with calamities which ought to be spared even to guilt! Accursed world! dead to every manly sympathy; with eyes of horn, and hearts of steel!'
His picture of fundamental human selfishness, of pure evil and of despotic and resentful emotions and actions is impressive. He is baffled by man's `hero'worship: `Man is surely a strange sort of creature, who never praise any one more heartily than him who has spread destruction and ruin over the face of nature.'
He sees however one bright spot: freedom of the mind: `The mind is master of itself; and is endowed with powers that might enable to laugh at the tyrant's vigilance.'

The novel has one minus point: its final with an ultimate reversal in the psychological warfare. It seems incredible and improbable (a destruction by suspicion).
However, it is a very compelling read, a real discovery.

Not to be missed.

Caleb Williams is a much overlooked novel these days, though when reading it, it's impossible not to see it's influence on modern crime drama--especially the "innocent acused" motif. Aside from that obvious influence, the novel as well as the author went on to influence a wide range of writers, from classic Vitorian novelists to the modern thriller writer (even if some weren't aware of it). But influence alone is not always a good reason to read something.
One word I've heard quite often to describe this story is "fierce." It's a good term for not only the story, but the concept Godwin was trying to express. Justice is a fierce thing, but no where near as fierce as injustice; and that's truly what this story is driven by: injustice. Mr. Falkland evades justice and Caleb cannot seem to find it. Caleb becomes a criminal, hunted for a crime he did not commit.
But Caleb Williams is a few things beyond the basic plot, which one can read directly from Amazon. It is a psycological novel. Throughout the story we are inside the mind of Caleb, and it is a stunning picture he paints of himself and of others. But I for one couldn't help but question the honesty of that picture. Even in the first Volume when he is recounting the early life of Mr. Falkland, we cannot be sure that there isn't something Caleb neglected to tell us or something he purposely changed. For that, the novel is a perfect study for anyone looking for unreliable narrators. Also, the novel is philosophical. Thoroughout we are feed lines about justice, humanity, and other morals the author wants to convey. This should be little of a problem for most people, considering the things Godwin is propogating are almost universaly considered proper today.
I do have one complaint about the book, which is this: Godwin is too wordy in his style. I love novels from this period, so I'm used to their general style, but Godwin's style is more akin to a philosophical essay than a novel. It can be disracting, and often I would go from completely enthralled to completely bored in the middle of a paragraph. This is the most notable in the first volume, but the story picks up heavy pace in the second, with a few lulls. By the time the third volume begins, it becomes very hard to put down until the end.