Caleb Williams

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1794

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Volume 2, Chapters 11-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Volume 2, Chapter 11 Summary

Caleb has never been in a prison and everything strikes him as new: “the massy doors, the resounding locks, the gloomy passages, the grated windows, and the characteristic looks of the keepers” (262). He comments that the “dirt of a prison speaks sadness to the heart” as it was obviously filled with putridity and infection (262).

Caleb describes several of the charges against other prisoners, focusing on how broken the men are: “[E]xistence [is] to them a scene of invariable melancholy; every moment was a moment of anguish” (265), but the men fear the outcomes of their trials will be worse (265).

Caleb attacks the hypocrisy of English claims of liberty, saying that the state of the jails is torture. The cells are seven and a half by six feet, with no window, light, or air except for what comes through a few holes (266). Caleb notes that the English pride themselves on having “no Bastille,” yet they treat their prisoners like the ones locked in France’s Bastille. Trials only occur once every six months, and if the case is not called, then the accused must wait another half year.

Volume 2, Chapter 12 Summary

Caleb’s mood improves after his first few days in prison; he decides that while he may be in jail, his mind is not chained. He finds the “secret of employing [his mind]” during his long days alone (271). Caleb amuses himself with memories, imaginary adventures, and all the subjects that he can remember studying in his life (272). Having nothing to lose is freeing to him: He is finally living outside of materialistic society and is not held to the same constricting responsibilities that he once was. Caleb has not forgotten his problems, and there are many times that he wants to die, but he stays strong by holding on to his memories (273).

Volume 2, Chapters 11-12 Analysis

The details Caleb provides about the other inmates represent the type of injustices that happened during this time. In the 18th-century justice system, those awaiting trial must sit in jail until they are called, which can take six months or more. This time spent in jail does not count towards the accused’s eventual sentence (assuming they receive further jail time): It is essentially a form of torture for people who have yet to even be found guilty.

The line that the English have “no Bastille” is a particular indictment of England’s treatment of its people. Godwin wrote Caleb Williams at the height of the French Revolution, which—though often condemned in England—was also seen as the product of France’s authoritarian monarchy. England had experienced its own revolution in the 17th century, which did not overthrow its monarchy but imposed limits on it while expanding the power of Parliament; consequently, England viewed itself as a freer and more egalitarian society than was common in Europe at the time. Since the Bastille had by the time of Godwin’s writing come to symbolize the oppression of the Ancien Régime, Caleb’s suggestion that England’s jails and justice system are just as unfair and torturous is especially pointed. Caleb describes the morale of the prisoners, detailing how these men are completely miserable yet terrified to go to trial, as they know that they cannot expect justice; many of them will be getting executed or charged with crimes they did not commit.