The Monk: Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

Thoughts of Elvira’s corpse consume Ambrosio for a time, but eventually his guilt fades. He tells Matilda about the murder, and she reassures him that what he did wasn’t so bad—after all, it’s only natural to defend oneself when one’s life is threatened. What’s more, things would’ve been very bad for Ambrosio had Elvira made the public aware of his sins. And, with Elvira dead, it’ll be easier for Ambrosio to get to Antonia.

One problem is that Ambrosio, in his former moral anguish, destroyed the enchanted myrtle. Matilda tells him that he can call on the demons for more assistance, but he’ll have to “subscribe to their established conditions.” Ambrosio says he’s not ready to do this, and Matilda backs off—for now.

Back at Elvira’s, Antonia awakes, stumbles on the corpse of her mother and shrieks in horror. She falls to the floor and clings to her dead mother. Antonia’s cries alert Flora, who runs to Antonia’s chamber and, upon seeing Elvira’s corpse, begins to shriek as well. Elvira’s superstitious landlady, Jacintha, finds out what happened and arranges for a funeral—not out of compassion, but because she doesn’t want Elvira’s ghost haunting the building. Jacintha arranges for Elvira to be buried at St. Clare’s cemetery. Due to Elvira’s recent illness, everyone assumes she died of natural causes.

Antonia falls into a deep melancholy. Now, she is alone in a strange city with little money and even fewer friends. Leonella remains away for the indeterminate future, and Antonia hasn’t heard from Lorenzo. Antonia wants to go to Ambrosio for comfort, but she doesn’t, remembering her mother’s warning to stay away from him. Finally, she writes to the marquis de las Cisternas (Raymond), her closest relative, but he never receives the letter because Raymond, overcome with grief over Agnes’s apparent death, failed to approach the marquis about supporting Antonia as he’d promised Lorenzo he’d do. Antonia’s luck improves somewhat when a letter arrives from Leonella announcing her return to Madrid that Tuesday.

Antonia, Flora, and Jacintha stay up late into the night on Tuesday, awaiting Leonella’s arrival. To pass the time, Antonia re-enters her mother’s chamber for the first time since Elvira’s death. She’s initially overcome with sadness, but this quickly gives way to fear when she registers the dark emptiness of the room and realizes how alone she is. Suddenly she hears a creak behind her, and she turns to see Elvira’s ghost. Elvira tells Antonia they’ll meet again in three days. Petrified, Atonia shrieks before collapsing to the floor and losing consciousness. When she comes to, Jacintha is beside her. But when Antonia tells Jacintha what she saw, superstitious Jacintha immediately runs to the monastery to speak with Ambrosio. 

At the monastery, Jacintha hysterically tells Ambrosio about Elvira’s death and the subsequent appearance of Elvira’s ghost. She relates a nonsensical story about seeing Elvira unashamedly eating a chicken wing—on a Friday—just before her death: this, Jacintha insists, is why Elvira’s spirit cannot remain at rest. Jacintha pleads with Ambrosio to come to the house and sprinkle it with holy water. Ambrosio considers her request. On the one hand, he won’t be able to conceal his visit to Jacintha’s house—meaning everyone will know he has broken his vow to never leave the monastery. On the other hand, he deeply desires to see Antonia. Ultimately, his desire for Antonia wins out, and he agrees to follow Jacintha to her lodging house that instant.

Ambrosio and Jacintha arrive at Elvira’s apartment in Jacintha’s lodging house. Seeing Elvira’s ghost so horrified Antonia that she disregards her mother’s vague warnings about Ambrosio and is instead grateful to see him. She tells him about seeing Elvira’s ghost and about what the ghost said about Antonia dying in three days. Ambrosio comforts Antonia and promises to return tomorrow. Flora, who was told by Elvira never to leave Ambrosio alone with Antonia, watches the monk like a hawk.   

Back at the monastery, Ambrosio frets over the possibility that Antonia may soon die. Matilda reassures him that this isn’t so—it’s merely a side effect of Antonia’s hysterical grief. But Matilda also proposes a plan that will ensure that Antonia is Ambrosio’s for eternity, but they have to act fast: soon Lorenzo will return to declare Antonia his betrothed, and then Ambrosio will have lost his chance. Matilda tells Ambrosio about a special plant that, when ingested, mimics the appearance of death. Ambrosio should slip some into Antonia’s medicine when he visits her tonight. She’ll appear dead and will be buried in the vaults at St. Clare but will revive 48 hours later. At that point, she will be entirely under Ambrosio’s control. Ambrosio is immediately on board with the plan and fantasizes about all he will do to Antonia once she belongs to him. 

Ambrosio springs into action, heading to St. Clare to acquire the special herb, which Matilda informed him may only be found in the convent’s laboratory. After retrieving a vial of the herb, he heads to Jacintha’s lodging house to administer the potion to Antonia. Ambrosio wants to leave immediately in order to evade suspicion, but Jacintha reminds him that he promised to inspect Elvira’s old chamber to ensure the ghost was no longer there. Ambrosio reluctantly agrees and shuts himself inside Elvira’s chamber. Though Matilda warned him the ghost was merely a figment of Jacintha’s hysterical imagination, he starts to feel creeped out. When he hears a rustling from the curtains, he is overcome with a sudden burst of terror and bolts from the room. 

Ambrosio hasn’t gotten far before a frantic Flora catches up to him to apologize—she was the one behind the curtains. Just then, Jacintha approaches, moaning with horror. Elvira’s ghost told the truth: Antonia has begun to convulse and will surely soon die. Later, Father Pablos visits Antonia and determines that she is indeed near death. She soon dies—or at least, she appears to die—and her body is brought to the tomb at St. Clare. Leonella happens to return to Madrid that very day. But, having missed the opportunity to say goodbye to her late sister and niece, she has nothing else to tie her to the city and soon departs once more.