As Volume 3 starts off, Caleb has just escaped from jail, where he hides until his pursuers have passed him. He then enters a forest, and encounters a group of men. Desperate for refreshment, he asks them for help but they turn out to be thieves and one of them, Gines, wounds him and leaves him for dead after taking his outer clothing. A short time later, he is saved by a man who takes him to his residence. Caleb then discovers his rescuer is actually the captain of the group of thieves. Because Gines was so cruel and brutal, the captain, Raymond, proposes that he be kicked out of the group and it is successful and Caleb can stay and recover with them.

Later, a member of the group called Larkins brings in a notice that shows that Caleb can be turned in for a hundred guineas to the captain. The captain, now named Mr. Raymond, defends Caleb in front of the entire group. Raymond speaks about Caleb’s past and how that they would never give him up. The appearance of the wanted note causes Caleb to think about how he thought that Falkland’s persecution was unwilling because he was a man of honor, but now Falkland is not content with making him a wanted man but wanted him to be hunted even now. Sometime later, a ferocious lady who manages the residence attacks Caleb, but Caleb is able to repel her attack. She alludes that he will be captured within 24 hours, so Caleb disguises himself as a beggar and leaves the compromised residence.

Learning that the entire country seems to be looking for him, Caleb decides to leave to Ireland. Before the boat can get far, officers stop the boat and arrest Caleb. However during the trial, the officers discover that Caleb is an Englishman and too tall to be the criminal they are looking for. Caleb is still found to be suspicious, so he is to be taken to the capital, Warwick. Caleb bribes the guards with what little money he had for freedom. Taken out of the city for a bit then released, he then curses “the whole system of human existence.” Disguising himself as a farmer, he then travels to London.

Upon arriving and resting, he then changes his disguise to a Jew. Deciding to procure a lodging to permanently stay and is determined to endure his situation. Thinking about how to provide for himself, he decides to be a writer. Using a woman living on the same floor as his agent, Ms. Marney, he tries to submit poetry for money but is rejected due to their policy to give nothing for poeticial compositions. Writing a paper then a tale, then translating, he then starts to make a life for himself.

Meanwhile Gines, the thief who was expelled from the thieves group, returns to a lawful profession but vowed to take revenge on Caleb upon finding out who he was. Gines tracks Caleb to London, but can not find him. Gines then visits a brother, who happens to be the head workman of a printing-office. Upon finding out that some submissions were from a mysterious man, Gines tracks Marney but she discovers him and leads him in the opposite direction of Caleb, who by then disguises himself anew.

Caleb’s new disguise was the “very picture” of the young son of Mr. Spurrel, another neighbor, and so was able to work for him to get money and live with him. Eventually a newspaper detailing Caleb’s situation and exposing his previous disguises starts to be sold in London. The public was warned to be watchful of recluse and solitary people and Marney had been sent to prison due to not reporting Caleb. Upon arriving home, he discovers that Spurrel was not home and at midnight, Spurrel brings home Gines. It is then revealed that Spurrel has sold out Caleb for the hundred guineas reward money and Caleb is forced to leave with Gines.

Spending the night in prison in Bow-street, he then discloses that the actual guilty one was Falkland and not himself, but is rejected by the magistrate and is sent back to the very jail that he escaped from a few months ago. Yet again he contemplated suicide, but resolves to die fighting. Upon the trial, no one that accused him shows up and so his case was thrown out and Caleb is released. In shock of the events, Caleb leaves the town but is then kidnapped by Gines, who blindfolds and gags him and bring him to a room in an inn where he is freed from the restraints. To Caleb’s surprise, Falkland enters the room looking haggard, looking like a skeleton instead of a lively individual.

Falkland then explains that all he was doing was to preserve Caleb’s life, and that except for the murder of Tyrell and the Hawkinses his entire life was benevolent. However due to Caleb attempted to disclose his secret murder, Falkland will never forgive Caleb. But to protect his own public reputation, he asks Caleb to sign a paper declaring his accusation against Falkland in Bow-street is false. Caleb however refuses to sacrifice himself to Falkland’s “mad and misguided love of fame” and Falkland leaves the room. Leaving the inn, no one stops Caleb until he encounters Thomas, Falkland’s servant. Thomas is firmly on Falkland’s side, but gives Caleb 20 pounds due to Falkland’s order.

Caleb then leaves for a market-town in Wales, and starts to gain hope that he could live out his life but it turns out that Falkland has employed Gines to follow Caleb around, destroying Caleb’s reputation so that he can not stay long in one place. Caleb then continues to move around from town to town and lives there, before Gines shows up and he moves on. Gines later shows up and tells him that he is not allowed to leave otherwise he will become an actual prisoner.

Caleb then details his journey and his injustices and gives them to Collins to preserve them from Falkland. Afterwards, he travels back to the town where Farkland resides and convinces the magistrate to investigate and call in Falkland. Eventually Falkland comes and Caleb tells his entire story to the magistrate. Falkland then confesses, and dies 3 days later. Caleb then explains how this entire story was so that readers could get a full picture of the story and not a half-told and mangled tale.

William Godwin’s “Essay on Sepulchres” details his proposal to use a simple white cross of wood to mark the grave of the illustrious dead. He brings up the question of who shall be marked as worthy, and says that as long as the tomb can “awaken some sentiment” and has some history associated is worthy. He is relying heavily on human nature that the truly worthy people will be remembered forever while others will eventually be forgotten to just a name.

Goodwind’s idea that truly worthy people will be remembered forever ties heavily to Caleb Williams, in that Falkland is trying his best to leave the best impression of himself to others no matter what. Upon confessing, Falkland states that his name will forever be infamous, while Caleb’s name will be forever admired.

Discussion Questions:
*Is it important to hear both sides of the story? Or can a person’s influence make it ok to only hear one side of a story?
*Should Caleb have agreed to Falkner’s proposal to ruin his own name for Falkner’s fame?
*How do you think the criteria should be set to determine if someone is worthy or not?

Volume two of Caleb Williams opens with the aftermath of Mr. Collins’ gathered history on Falkland. Caleb begins to worry that Falkland is guilty of Tyrrel’s murder, and he begins to spying on Falkland. After an intrusive discussion and backhanded questioning, it becomes even more apparent that Falkland is Tyrrel’s murderer. But Falkland cannot dismiss Caleb from his services because it could then confirm Caleb’s suspicion even more so. After stumbling upon a letter to Falkland from Mr. Hawkins, Caleb again confronts Falkland, insinuating he knows about the murder, which pushes Falkland even closer to the edge. Falkland calls Caleb into his office, demanding Caleb speak his mind and tell Falkland what he knows. Caleb does so, and Falkland expresses how miserable he has been since the trial, making Caleb feel terrible for the accusations he has set forth. However, Caleb is still suspicious and thinks Falkland might be the murderer. Since their talk, Falkland has had more fits of insanity, further confirming Caleb’s allegations. Caleb decides to, once again, confront his master, but only when he has acquired substantial evidence. There is a fire on the premises and Caleb decides to go inside to help rather than be a bystander. He is drawn to the private apartment, and a trunk inside that he’s noticed before. Caleb breaks it open, but Falkland enters as soon as he begins to look at its contents. Falkland grabs a piston and holds it to Caleb’s head, but changes his mind immediately and discards the item. Shortly after, Falkland calls for Caleb in his office. Falkland finally admits to the murder, but forces Caleb to keep this secret to himself and continue working for Falkland.

Not too long after, Mr. Forester visits the premises, and abruptly leaves sooner than his visit had entailed. He returns a few weeks later and secretly meets with Caleb; he is concerned for Caleb’s happiness and inquires about Caleb and Falkland’s relationship. Caleb admits he is miserable, but cannot leave Falkland’s service. In return, Forester offers him a place to stay whenever Caleb is ready to leave. Suddenly, Falkland walks in on their meeting, but does not berate Caleb in front of Forester. Instead, Caleb is left with his thoughts and fear about the repercussions of his consultation. He writes a letter to Falkland, expressing his desire to quit. Naturally, Falkland refuses and states that Caleb is to be his servant forever. Caleb decides to flee the Falkland residency, and venture out into the world.

After reaching his destination and settling in an inn, Caleb notices friends of Falkland’s in the area, and worries his location will soon be discovered by Falkland himself. He is confronted by a bearer, who gives him a letter from Valentine Forester. To Caleb’s surprise, he has been asked to return to Falkland’s estate to prove his innocence. If he does not return, he will be convicted as guilty. Eager to clear his name, Caleb agrees to go with the bearer, regardless of the consequence.

Caleb meets with Forester and Falkland the next morning to discuss the charges. Falkland accuses Caleb of stealing from him on the day of the fire. He calls upon his servant Robert as a witness, and Robert lies for Falkland. The servants produce the stolen jewels and it is obvious Caleb will be convicted as guilty. Even Forester, who initially seemed to be on Caleb’s side, could not argue with the evidence shown. After Caleb states he’s innocent, and that Falkland knows he is innocent, the case against him becomes even worse. He is sent off to county jail, with no friends or allies on his side.

The excerpt from Reflections on the Revolution in France 1790 opens with the slaughter of the royal family and bishops. The author, Edmund Burke, reflects on this, and what it says about humans and humanity. It seems as if he strongly disagrees with the murders, but also knows that they were for the best. Burke even goes on to say that the king and queen were merely humans, and humans are killed everyday. What makes these two humans any more important than all the others? However, Burke clearly opposed mob rule, and preferred the rule of a singular leader, although this leader should represent the public’s wants and needs. He believed that everyone was entitled to their own prejudice, meaning their own right to determine what is right or wrong. But within that, people needed to come to a mutual consensus, led primarily by the state.

Within his writing, it seems as if Burke is conflicted on what he thinks is morally right and just. It is difficult to find the perfect balance not only in a country, but as humans living our lives everyday. We are constantly forced to make difficult decisions, and to then make the “right” decision is a matter of what we think is right, or a majority of the world thinks is right. There are many factors to take into consideration when making life decisions. This ties into our topic of Frankenstein this semester because of our focus on humanity. Being able to make choices and have opinions on subject matter is a part of humanity, and makes us who we are. Even William Godwin touches on this topic in volume two of Caleb Williams, when Caleb decides to return to the Falkland estate in order to clear his name. He could have easily continued to flee from his master, but he felt that he needed to defend himself and confront the situation.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you think the government should strongly listen to the public’s demand? Or should there be some sort of limitation on how laws/governmental action come into existence?
2. Did Caleb make the right decision to come back and clear his name?
3. Should we make our decisions solely based on what we feel is wrong or right? Or should the outside world have some sort of influence?

Enquirer Concerning Political Justice by William Godwin, vol 1 is composed of 4 books, in which Godwin outlines his revolutionary ideas that make a “distinction between society and government.” His works had a monumental impact on the world of literature and politics during the French Revolution and highly influential on the first and second generation romantics. Godwin, the father of Mary Shelly, was one of the first political philosophers and considered the first modern proponent of anarchism. In his work, Godwin states that justice supersedes freedom between government and society in order to keep the good of the mankind. For Godwin, justice from the government does not exist for ordinary individuals and the rich are the one who controls the poor. Life is extremely important and should not be given preferential treatment to individuals based solely on his or her socioeconomic status or ideology. As he states “we should love our neighbor as ourselves.”

For William, the nature of innate morality and rationality is to put aside “any moral duties” as “mercy, gratitude, temperance,” or any other duty that contradicts the meaning of justice. Godwin, also mentions that “the imperfection of human nature” make us prefer one man to another by not discerning “the comparative worth of different men”. Two people should be treated equally but in real life, one individual has more “worth and importance” than the other. For him, Individuals and government are not working together. In contrast, He believes that society is capable of change and can counteract their beliefs for the welfare of moral justice and political truth.  In his work, Godwin is constantly calling for justice equality but at the same time, he finds himself guilty of being an imperfect human being, since he has the assumption of preferring one of his relatives rather than another person.

“Equality of mankind is either physical or moral.” William Godwin states that between two individuals there is always the weak and the strong, and educated and uneducated. However, these aspects should not be obstacles for humans to be governed and manipulated by others. “It follows therefore that all men are essentially independent – So much for the physical equality.” Freedom will give us a better understanding of life, and correct what it is wrong in society.  Political Society is founded on “the principle of morality and justice”. Justice is a moral obligation, a duty that all individuals should adhere to. For him, justice does not have a philosophical accuracy because society has self-interests that are violating the principles of reason and existence.

Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams, written in 1794, tells the story of a young man who was hired as Mr. Falkland’s personal secretary. By the end of volume 1, Caleb Williams suspects that Mr. Falkland is likely to murder Mr. Tyrell. Caleb is a curious individual and will stop at nothing until his curiosity is satisfied. Mr. Hawkins and his son, tenants of Mr. Tyrell were found guilty of his murder and then executed. Mr. Falkland falls in love with Mr. Tyrell’s cousin, who died drastically after she was put in jail by Tyrell. Godwin’s moral philosophy and ideology are also reflected in his book. Caleb Williams focuses on political and psychological aspects in which injustice prevails. Godwin wrote  Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams just a year after of Political Justice written in 1793. Through his work, the author tries to speak out and alert society about having equality which should benefit society as a whole. It seems like Godwin identifies himself as the society and Mr. Farkland as the Government in his book. Godwin’s moral beliefs are shown in his novel to indicate there is a moral problem. Godwin thinks that government is the cause of all tragedy and misery and that government should not exist. This statement is a little contradictory because a healthy government is an organism that will take society to prosperity in all aspects or at least will try to fight for it. After the book Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams,  William Godwin was criticized and considered by the government as a political propagandist and a threat. Godwin did not have any self-interest other than justice and equality. He writes with passion and believes that a world will be better through literature, justice, and education. He also thinks that “reason” will help us to discipline ourselves. “Reason cannot excite us to action; it is calculated to regulated our conduct.”

The relation that is found between Godwin’s text and other texts is the identification of values and virtues that are represented in his works such as benevolence, political justice, and impartiality. These values approach the representation of Utopia because he looks for improvement in the quality of life. Through his ideological texts, Godwin approaches a utopian socialism in which he manifests with “rational impartiality” that “justice in property” is voluntary to give up on something to give it to the one who needs it the most but this has to be without the use of any force. The act of generosity is to relinquish a personal possession. This might be seen as a part of the representation of Utopia.

Questions:

Do you think we need “reason” for improvement of society?

If there is an abolition of all government in the present life, do you think individuals are going to be able to take justice by themselves without coercion?

If governments would not exist, do you think society would work better by not being controlled?