The Use of Structural Disruptions in 18th-Century Literature

William Godwin's Caleb Williams and Elizabeth Inchbald's A Simple Story incorporate dramatic disruptions to their narrative. These ruptures are evident throughout the novel as structural interruptions in both the physical structures within the stories and the actual structures of the texts themselves. They interrupt the natural flow of the story and the text, and additionally, create radically different dimensions to the characters.

The seclusion of physical locations allow for specific characters to portray those traits more closely associated with their subconscious mind. Yet, the same isolation of certain characters can also serve to block access to their internal thoughts and remove their own voice. Physical structural disruptions of this sort are mirrored within the text. These serve to weaken the reliability of the narrator as to the story itself, but allow for a greater focus on a character's state of mind. Caleb Williams and A Simple Story are not merely stories of certain characters, but rather, a study of the significance of their internal struggles. Reactions to the structural interruptions reflect inherent traits of the individuals, both in the obvious changes to their characters and even in their resistance to change.

Both Caleb and Miss Milner suffer under Falkland and Dorriforth, yet, ironically, it is not Caleb or Miss Milner who undergo the most radical character transformations. Despite the fact that Caleb is wrongly persecuted by Mr. Falkland, he remains steadfastly the same man in regards to his principles and his morality. By the third volume, he continues to state that he "pursue[s] in every succeeding instance the conduct [he] ha[s] adopted at first" (Godwin 316). Similarly, Miss Milner's ultimate downfall is due to the same "impatient, irritable disposition she ha[s] so seldom governed" in the first part of the novel (Inchbald 223).

Although later, when she is removed to "a lonely country" in "a single house" (Inchbald 226), she becomes only a shadow of her former self, it is as "Miss Milner, [his former] ward" (Inchibald 236) that she supplicates Dorriforth in her letter. Inchbald focuses on the fact that Miss Milner's decay takes place within an almost wholly isolated structure, and surrounds it with negative diction, calling it a "gloomy apartment" (Inchbald 226) and a "horrid habitation" (Inchbald 236). Miss Milner immediately "fled [Dorriforth's] house" upon her indiscretions, and she sought only "shelter... in the most dreary retreat" (Inchbald 224). It is interesting, however, that she barely mentions the state of Miss Milner's mind after such a fall from grace, moving from the close third person voice she adopts in the first part, to a distant narrative commentary in the beginning of the second. Inchbald states that as Miss Milner is dying, "her failing voice endeavour[s], in vain, to articulate," and it is as if Miss Milner has lost not only her actual voice but also, the ability to articulate the thoughts within her mind (Inchbald 227). Although Sandford claims that she is repentant, it is questionable whether her character is actually altered, only that the solitary physical location has subdued her previous character.

She appeals to Dorriforth not as a humble and remorseful sinner, but as a memory of her former self, his ward. Unlike Miss Milner, however, Caleb is more active in his escape from isolation, and is thus able to better maintain his voice and his state of mind.
Caleb is obsessed with the idea of freedom, and it is through the pursuit of this in which he can manage his sanity. Even when he is imprisoned his account is thorough and the voice is not that of a madman, but impeccably detailed as to even the fact that his "chain permit[s] [him] to move only about eighteen inches to the right or left" (Godwin 207) and that he "passe[s] fourteen or sixteen hours" (Godwin 211). It is actually within the prison that he "acquire[s] a character for mechanical ingenuity," which is ironic considering that he is surrounded by nothing except his own chain (Godwin 211). Later, when he is on the run, with no hope for liberty, under perpetual disguise, his health actually deteriorates with his "solitary mode of... living" (Godwin 276). The syntax changes from the previous mechanical sentences which are relatively long and detailed, to those which are shorter and more punctuated, so that the text becomes more fragmented and the voice seems easily panicked.

When Caleb is found by Gines in Mr. Spurrel's home, nearly every statement made by the characters is followed by an exclamation, as when Gines speaks of what a "rascal [Caleb] is!," when Mr. Spurrel exclaims continuously "Thank God! thank God!," and when Caleb tells them to "conduct [him] wherever [they] please!" (Godwin 282). The diction is equally frantic as Mr. Spurrel gives a "violent start" and Caleb's voice "electrifie[s] him" with the "unexpectedness" (Godwin 282). The structural isolation here is more abstract, and Caleb's place of physical solitude is actually the absence of a person in whom he can find "refuge" (Godwin 279) or "who might shelter [him]" (Godwin 280). Godwin personifies a physical location as an individual whom Caleb seeks for protection, and his inability to find both a safe hideout and confidante become one in the same. However, it is important to note that it is not that Caleb's character is changing, but rather, that his mind, like Miss Milner in isolation, is becoming addled, or only a shadow of his former self. Unlike Miss Milner though, Caleb regains his health when he is imprisoned once more, as he resolves that "oppressed, annihilated [he may] be; but, if [he] die[s], [he will] die resisting" (Godwin 288). Liberty, then, appears to be crucial in both the lives of Miss Milner and Caleb, the former dying without a voice from lack thereof, and the latter quite willing to die in its pursuit. It is interesting then, to reflect on the life of Lady Matilda, from whom liberty is always at bay.

Lady Matilda is arguably the most static character within A Simple Story. Born and raised in a "recluse life," she only escapes isolation in the very end of the novel, by which time, she has affectively lost what little voice she was granted (Inchbald 244). Paradoxically, her own liberty as a free thinking individual is contingent upon her isolation, and when she is embraced by Dorriforth into his home, she is lost to his will. As she moves out of the "wretched dwelling" of Lord Margrave's, Inchbald alludes to the many other solitary rooms in which she has resided, so that this removal becomes more than simply the step away from Lord Margrave's reaches, but also, the end of her isolated life (Inchbald 334). Thus, it is significant that she makes the move, not on her own, but "led" by Dorriforth (Inchbald 334). Notice also Inchbald's use of the word led, which implies a sort of greater power and knowledge, Lady Matilda does not move with or beside Dorriforth, but implicitly behind him. Additionally, they do not remove to Elmwood house, a location in which she has formerly dwelled, but instead to the rather less significant "house in town," which lacks both the lustrous title and narrative detail ascribed to Elmwood house (Inchbald 335). Lady Matilda feels "a tremor seize her" when she is to "join her father in the next room," and her efforts to calm herself are "to no purpose" (Inchbald 336). So that in spite of her reconciliation with her father, she is still unable to be in the same room as him, or more abstractly, on equal terms with Dorriforth. Later, when Rushbrook hurries to declare his love to her, he worries "that Matilda's peace of mind might be for ever destroyed before she [is] set at liberty" (Inchbald 337).

Even as Inchbald alludes to their happy ending, Lady Matilda's last words are not of Rushbrook or love, but asking if "Lord Elmwood [knew] for what he sent [her]" (Inchbald 341). There is no mention again of either her peace of mind or her liberty, and the conclusion forces a sort of superficial theme of proper education, in which Miss Milner's and Lady Matilda's actions are ascribed to the educations granted to them by their fathers. The power that Dorriforth holds over both women is significant, and the decisions that he makes cause most of the structural interruptions in their lives.

Both Dorriforth and Falkland are much more fluid and complex characters than Miss Milner, Lady Matilda, or Caleb. Dorriforth goes from the passive guardian of Miss Milner to her commanding husband and shunning father to Lady Matilda. Falkland transforms from the calculating and reasonable gentleman to a man who borders upon madness for the sake of a secret. Although Dorriforth and Falkland drive Miss Milner, Lady Matilda, and Caleb into seclusion, they themselves actually impose similar isolation on themselves. Yet, while Miss Milner simply loses any semblance of her former self, becoming essentially an invisible character and Caleb resists any real change to his character, Dorriforth and Falkland suffer dramatically under their self imposed seclusion. Dorriforth originally states that he is not like other priests who "seclud[e] themselves" and that he "refuse[s] to shelter himself from the temptations of the laymen" (Inchbald 59). Later, it is important to remember this in his forced seclusion, which is not from society, but instead, from the temptations of love and family. After Miss Milner's indiscretions and his abandonment of both her and Lady Matilda, Dorriforth is "seldom... at Elmwood house," which becomes a symbol for familial bliss (Inchbald 242).

The diction surrounding the castle is much more positive than any other physical structure, and it is "the magnificent seat" (Inchbald 242) and characters are "struck with... delight at the grandeur of [the] seat" (Inchbald 243). Ironically, when he reconciles with Lady Matilda, it is not to this place that he takes her, but instead to his town home. Elmwood Castle is important because it is a physical location in which Dorriforth loses power in his love for both his wife and his daughter. When Lady Matilda faints, he catches her and claims that he desires to "escape the snare into which he [is] be[ing] led" (Inchbald 288-289). By the end, Dorriforth has not necessarily reverted back to his original, virtuous and loving self, but instead, gained complete power over Lady Matilda by leading her himself away from Elmwood house. Similarly to Dorriforth, Falkland imposes a self inflicted form of isolation, although unlike Dorriforth, this seclusion ultimately disempowers him.

It is the height of irony that Falkland is ultimately driven to insanity by the very act of persecuting Caleb. Yet, it is not unforeseen, and Falkland was already teetering at the brink of insanity even before he attempts to bring down Caleb in order to protect his secret. He lives in a way that "in the utmost degree recluse and solitary" (Godwin 8), and like Miss Milner, he becomes only "the mere shell of Falkland" (Godwin 11). Godwin enables him to become a more dynamic character, however, by granting him a voice that is absent with Miss Milner after her fall from grace. This voice is increasingly influenced by solitude, as when Caleb accidentally stumbles upon Falkland in a small closet, which is "separated" (Godwin 9) from the rest of the library - Falkland launches into a rage and calls Caleb a "wretch" and a "devil" and accuses Caleb of "watch[ing] [Falkland's] privacies" (Godwin 10). When Caleb attempts to break into the most private of his structures, the trunk, Falkland threatens him with a pistol and then claims control over Caleb's own voice, telling him that "if ever an unguarded word escape[s] from [his] lips...expect to pay" (Godwin 142).

Additionally, like Dorriforth who shuns love as a form of power over himself, Falkland hides from his own emotions, claiming that "[his] tongue has now for the first time in several years spoken the language of [his] heart; and the intercourse... shall be shut for ever" (Godwin 142). There is an apparent contradiction in this statement, however, as Falkland states at the end that "reputation [is] the blood that warm[s] my heart," and it seems that Godwin is unable to reconcile the heart in regards to true remorse and emotion and that which is Falkland's actual selfish desires (Godwin 336). Falkland secludes himself from the heart which is a guilty reminder of his misdeeds, but allows that of his reputation to flourish within him. In his structural and his emotional isolation, he essentially punishes himself for allowing his reputation to engulf his heart.

The idea of structural interruption is complex, especially in light of the fact that in these novels, structures allude to physical and metaphorical objects within the stories. Moreover, these structural ruptures within the narrative are repeated in the actual texts of the novels, allowing for the pace and tone to change rapidly with the fluctuations of the different characters. Although Caleb Williams and A Simple Story are not realist novels in a certain sense, they delve more deeply into the emotional and mental states of the different characters. When the narrative steps back, as with Miss Milner in part two, it signifies the death of a character, not simply physically, but also, the end of her part as a glimpse into the human condition. The physical locations themselves, as in Elmwood Castle or the locked trunk, symbolize power struggles between both different characters and within themselves individually. Similarly, metaphorical structures, such as that of a sheltering individual to Caleb or that of Falkland's heart, become an internal battle in which they seek to maintain their principles. The ruptures of these structures, or the sudden change in conditions, dramatically alter the different character's internal struggles. Though the text becomes erratic with these ruptures, it only serves to help the narrative guide more closely to the characters' minds.