Public Perception
The Scandal
A little while after book was published the entire narrative was deemed untrue and everything in the book was made up to steer public perception in a negative light of Catholicism. More so the real hoax was that Monk did not write the book at all, and her only true ties with a Catholic institution was of an inmate she met at the Magdalene Asylum in Montreal. While at the Asylum Monk became pregnant so at the age of eighteen she had to leave the facility. She met a man named William K. Hoyte who was the head of the Canadian Benevolent Society, and he is speculated to have introduced her to the men who would write the book.
The book was highly anticipated because it promised to expose the dark secrets of the Catholic convent system. The book was a sensational success as promised and became the rallying point of the nativist movement. A few months after the initial release the book had sold 26,000 copies, and by the start of the Civil War would go on to sell over 300,000 copies. The book would go on to be reprinted under different titles for a few decades after.
After the book becoming so successful the public did not need Monk as the face of the story anymore. Monk feeling the loss of importance among her peers attempted to write another work The Further Disclosures of Maria Monk however it made no impact on society. People were over Monk and her fictitious fairytales, and this was something that Monk had a hard time adapting too. She later had another illegitimate child in 1838 that she took no responsibility for. At the young age of thirty- three Maria Monk passed away in 1849.
--Jasmine Hawkins
The book is significant because its whole purpose was to skew the public’s view of Catholicism at this time. Monk merely was used as a cover for the men to pen an exploitive and fictitious account of the Nunnery. More so, for the public to believe that these were the real acts that were occurring behind closed door. Hoyte who was the head of Benevolent Society their main cause was Protestant missionary work with ardent anti- Catholic activism. Anti-Catholicism novels were nothing new at this time, and the Monk’s book had the same impact as many others. Especially since this was the era of those sentiments there were not many people fighting against these novels.
Later Life
Religious Significance
The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk
Maria Monk was born to William Monk and Isabella Mills on June 27, 1816 in St. Johns, Quebec. A few historians have speculated that Maria Monk suffered a head injury as a child. Monk’s mother is cited stating that she was an uncontrollable child, and this was mostly contributed to the injury. The story is that a slate pencil was rammed into her ear penetrating her skull. It was stated that even though Maria Monk was born a Protestant she became interested in religious life as a student in convent school. After finishing her studies at the school from there she would go on to become a nun.
The book The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk was published in January 1836 which was a narrative of her sufferings during her residence of five years as a novice and two years as a black nun. The narrative was set in the Hotel Dieu Nunnery in Montreal. The beginnings of the narrative discusses the mistreatment of the nuns, and the secret behavior going around in the Nunnery. The foundation of the story is built upon Monk having to tell of her horrid experiences there, and how she escaped to save her child’s life.
