The Monk: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

Lorenzo acknowledges that Raymond was wrong to act on temptation but doesn’t blame him—Raymond and Agnes wouldn’t be the first to engage in premarital sex. He gives Raymond his full support, and he also informs him that Raymond no longer needs to worry about the baroness’s opposition to the relationship, since she died of a broken blood vessel several months ago. Raymond, in return, offers to help Lorenzo pursue Antonia.  

Raymond returns to his chamber and finds Theodore there writing poetry. He offers to give Theodore his feedback, and Theodore, embarrassed, eventually obliges. Raymond reads Theodore’s emotional poem about love and tells Theodore he enjoys it, though he cautions his page against pursuing the life of a writer if he wants to be happy. If he writes well, people will hate him out of jealousy for his talent; and if he writes badly, people will criticize him for his poor writing.

Back at Elvira’s living quarters, meanwhile, Elvira scolds her sister Leonella for telling a stranger all about her and Antonia’s past. When she notices that the mere mention of Lorenzo’s name causes Antonia to blush, Elvira, fearing for her daughter, forbids Leonella from seeing or contacting the cavaliers again. Leonella goes behind her sister’s back and writes to Lorenzo anyway.

Back at his hotel in Medina, Lorenzo reads Leonella’s letter, which tells of Elvira’s disapproval and gushes over her own attraction to Don Christoval. She tells Lorenzo where they are staying in town. When he finishes reading the letter, Lorenzo goes to look for Christoval. Unable to find his friend, he arrives at Elvira’s apartment alone—much to Leonella’s disappointment. Antonia is doing work around the house when he arrives. She blushes but doesn’t speak to him. Elvira greets him with a look of anger and disapproval. In order to ingratiate himself with her, he informs her that Raymond has agreed to convince his father’s widow to accept Elvira as family. This pleases Elvira, and she warms to him somewhat, though she forbids him from returning to her apartment.  

After Lorenzo leaves, Antonia and Elvira sit in silence a while until Elvira confronts her daughter about Lorenzo. Elvira explains that it’s a bad idea for a common woman like Antonia to be with a noble like Lorenzo: unlike Lorenzo, Antonia has nobody to look out for her. She believes that Antonia is too young and naïve to understand the passion and affection she is currently feeling.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo returns to Raymond to plan their rescue of Agnes. The friends take a coach to the convent and sneak in through the garden at the appointed hour. They wait until daybreak, but she does not arrive. Unbeknownst to Lorenzo and Raymond,  the prioress has been keeping Agnes prisoner. When Lorenzo goes to the convent the following day to ask to see Agnes, the prioress lies and says that Agnes has fallen gravely ill and cannot see guests.

Lorenzo returns to the convent each day, but every time, he’s told that Agnes is doing even worse. He becomes convinced that this is a lie, and so he writes to the cardinal duke of Lerma and receives a papal bull ordering the convent to release Agnes to his care the following day. Meanwhile, Elvira asks to speak with him. During their meeting, Elvira expresses her gratitude for Lorenzo’s help with the marquis (Raymond) but also asks that he not visit them so much—it’s clear that Antonia has feelings for Lorenzo, and Elvira needs to look out for her naïve daughter. Elvira’s health is poor, and she fears she won’t live long. She doesn’t want Antonia to be unprotected once she is gone. She will only approve of Lorenzo’s marrying Antonia, therefore, if the duke—Lorenzo’s uncle—approves of the union, too. Elvira is doubtful the duke will do so.

Lorenzo tells Elvira about his ongoing predicament with Agnes and assures her that, as soon as that problem is resolved, he will set to work getting his family to approve of Antonia. Elvira expresses sympathy and worry for Agnes, having heard of how strict, superstitious, and cruel the prioress at St. Clare is: the woman will surely judge Agnes harshly for quitting the convent. 

After leaving Elvira’s, Lorenzo heads to St. Clare. He approaches the prioress after the church service and confronts her about Agnes. Once more, the prioress lies about Agnes’s worsening condition. When Lorenzo tells her about the papal bull, the prioress responds with a shocking revelation: it will be impossible for her to follow the order, for Agnes died last Friday. Lorenzo refuses to accept this, and when he passes along the news to Raymond, Raymond, too, refuses to accept Agnes’s death.