Summary Caleb Williams
William Godwin
Caleb Williams
Eighteen-year-old Caleb Williams, timid and well-read, after the death of his parents, poor peasants who lived in the possessions of the wealthy squire Ferdinand Fokland, becomes his secretary.
The strange behavior of Falkland, who leads a closed life and often falls into a gloomy reverie, followed by outbursts of anger, leads the young man to the idea that his master is tormented by some mystery. According to Caleb himself, the main driving force that guided his entire life was always curiosity. The young man’s ingenious mind encourages him to dig up in everything to motives and ulterior motives, and he seeks explanations for what so torments Fokland.
Collins, the manager of the estate, at the request of Caleb tells him the tragic story of his master.
In the youth of Fokland inspired ambitious romantic dreams of knightly deeds. Traveling through Italy, he repeatedly proved his courage and nobility. After returning
Tyrrel, a man of remarkable physical strength, rude, despotic and unbalanced, was accustomed to reign supreme in the local society: no one dared to contradict him in anything. With the arrival of Fokland, who not only favorably differed from Tirred’s mind and courtesy, but despite the lack of physical strength, did not yield to him in courage, the situation changed dramatically: the soul of the society was Fokland. Wishing to put an end to senseless hostility on the part of Tyrrel and fearing a tragic outcome, Fockland made attempts to approach him, but he even more hated his rival. To revenge Fockland, Tyrrel decided to marry his poor cousin, Miss Emily Melville, who lived in his house, for Grimes, one of his hangers-on. But Emily refused. The girl’s heart already belonged to Auckland, who saved her from imminent death during a fire in the village where she was staying. When Grimes, at Tyrrell’s instigation, tried to dishonor her.
After Emily’s death, everyone turned away from Tirred, and the one who was insulted and humiliated, but did not repent of his atrocities, was uninvited at a public meeting and fought Fockland severely. Tyrrell was thrown out of the door, Fokland soon left the meeting, and some time later Tirrell’s bloody corpse was found nearby. The court before which Fokland made a brilliant speech, unconditionally recognized him as innocent of the murder. Responsible for this death was Hawkins, the former tenant Tyrrel. Hawkins had reasons to hate his former master, who out of pure petty tyranny drove him to poverty, and hid his son in jail. They found evidence that testified against Hawkins, and he was hanged with his son, who escaped from prison before the very murder of Tyrrell.
Collins ends this story. These events, he tells the young Caleb, so influenced Falkland, that he changed dramatically: he ceased to be in society, became a stern recluse. Despite the kindness towards others, he is always cold and reserved, and the usual dark mood for him sometimes gives way to fits of rage, and then he looks like a madman.
The story of the manager makes such a strong impression on a young man endowed with an ardent imagination that he constantly reflects on the history of his master. Carefully analyzing all of its details, he comes to the conclusion that Hawkins could not be Tirrell’s killer. Accidentally discovered by Caleb, Hawkins’ letter to Fokland, who sympathized with the poor tenant and tried to save him from Tyrrell’s persecution, turns speculation into a firm conviction. Is the killer – Fockland?
Caleb begins to watch him, noting his slightest mental movements. Talking with Fokland on abstract topics, the young man tries to direct the conversation in the right direction to him, in the hope that the fokland will give himself away with a careless word or gesture. The desire at all costs to learn the secret of his master turns into a real mania for Caleb, he loses all caution and leads a dangerous game with his master almost openly: he finishes Fokland with delicately-minded questions and allegedly random hints almost to insanity.
Finally, Falkland confesses to Caleb that he, Fockland, the real killer of Tyrrel, caused the death of innocent convicted Hawkins. But Falkland is not broken by defeat. He warns the young man that he will be paid for his insatiable curiosity: he will not send him off duty, but he will always hate him, and if Caleb shares with someone an uncovered secret, then let him blame himself.
The young man realizes that he actually became a captive of Fokland. During his service, Caleb grew spiritually and formed himself as a person, albeit at a high price. Engaged in constant surveillance and analysis of the behavior of Falkland, the young man learned to own his feelings and will, his mind became sharp and penetrating, but he completely lost the ease and cheerfulness of his youth. Admiring the high dignity of Falkland, whose character and way of thinking he thoroughly studied, Caleb realizes how dangerous a person can be, who was forced to confess to a perfect crime.
Caleb and Focland seemed to have switched places. Now Fokland jealously watches every step of Caleb, and that begins to weigh down the lack of freedom. Valentin Forster, the elder brother of Fokenda’s mother, comes to the estate on a visit. Forster sympathizes with the young man, and Caleb hints at him that he is burdened by the service of his master.
The young man asks for Forster’s intercession in case of persecution from the side of Fokland. But he guesses that the young man wants to escape from his power, and demands that Caleb stop all communication with Forster. He reinforces his claim with threats, and Caleb decides to flee. Forster sends him a servant with a letter, in which he urges him to return to the estate of his brother. Caleb returns, but the insidious Falkland accuses him of having robbed him of a large sum of money. In the presence of Forster and the servants, Fockland cites false evidence of Caleb’s guilt, and the young man is taken to prison. He tries to escape, but only the second attempt gives him freedom.
Caleb almost dies at the hands of the bandits, but their leader, Raymond, who is not alien to nobility, saves him and takes it under his protection. The evil and avid Jaines, who robbed and wounded defenseless Caleb, Raymond banishes from the gang. The young man lives among the brigands in thick thickets of forests, in old ruins, where the farm is led by a terrible old woman, which locals fear and consider a witch. She hates Caleb, because he was driven away by Jaines, who used her location. The young man does not participate in the raids of the gang, on the contrary, he exhorts the robbers and their leader to abandon the theft and set foot on the honest path.
In the meantime, the district is distributing leaflets describing the appearance of the dangerous criminal Caleb Williams: a reward of one hundred guineas has been assigned for his capture. The young man guesses that the old woman, who has already attempted his life, wants to extradite him to the authorities, and leaves the gang. He disguises himself as a beggar and tries to sail to Ireland, but he is seized by two detectives, mistakenly mistaking for one of the scammers who robbed the mail, and Caleb almost once again does not go to jail.
A young man goes to London. At first he constantly changes clothes and carefully changes his appearance. Then he pretends to be a poor and crippled Jewish youth (for this Caleb wears an artificial hump under his coat) and begins to make a living by literary work. However, he is hunted down by Jains, who, prior to joining the bandit gang, was a detective, and after his expulsion from it returned to his former craft. A young man gets into the same prison from which he fled. In despair, he tells the judges that he is not guilty of anything, and his former master, Fockland, deliberately accused him of stealing. For the first time in his life, Caleb announces that Fockland is a criminal and a murderer. But the judges are frightened that the poor man decides to blame the rich gentleman, and refuse to listen to the testimony of the young man. But,
Fockland, who, with the help of the Jaines employed by him, had long followed Caleb’s every move, offers him a deal: the young man must sign a paper with the assurance that Fockland is innocent of Tyrrell’s murder, and then Fockland will leave the young man alone. But Caleb, driven to despair by the persecution of his former master, still refuses indignantly, not wanting to become an instrument of injustice. To the amazement of the youngster, Fockland does not try to hide him behind bars and even transfers money to him through the servant.
Caleb leaves for Wells and lives in a small town, where he is engaged in repairing watches and teaching mathematics. However, here he is overtaken by the revenge of Fokland: all of a sudden, and without any explanation, all of Caleb’s friends turn away from him, and he remains without work.
Caleb leaves Wells in order to go to Holland, but Jaines follows him and tells him that Falkland will resort to extreme measures if the young man tries to leave England. Caleb wanders around the country, nowhere finding a home. Finally, he makes a decision: the world must learn about his ordeals and the terrible truth about their main culprit. The young man describes in detail the history of his misadventures and comes to the city where Fokland lives. He is to the judge, calls himself and demands to bring a case against his former master who committed the murder. The judge reluctantly agrees to conduct a private investigation in the presence of Fockland and several gentlemen.
Caleb pronounces a passionate speech in which he extols the nobility and mind of Falkland, and blames himself for not revealing his heart in time, the fockland is a murderer, but he committed a crime blindly revengeing for the humiliation he endured. Continuing to live for the ghost of lost honor, Fokland continued to do good and proved himself worthy of universal love and respect, and he, Caleb, deserved only contempt for having involuntarily become the accuser of such a beautiful man who was forced to pursue his former servant.
Fockland is shocked. He admits that Caleb won in this unequal struggle, showing a nobility, which he, Fokland, unfortunately, did not recognize in him before. Fockland laments that because of his excessive suspicion, he did not appreciate the young man’s dignity. Fockland confesses to the people present in his guilt and dies in three days. Caleb is in despair: Falkland’s exposure did not bring him the coveted escape from suffering. The young man considers himself a killer of Fokland and from now on he will suffer with remorse. With bitterness cursing the human society, Caleb in his notes says that it is “swampy and rotten soil, from which every noble escape, growing up, absorbs poison.” Caleb finishes his notes with Fockland’s apology, expressing the hope that thanks to them the history of this noble soul will be understood to the end.
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