The Outline of William Godwin's Novel "St. Le...

The Outline of William Godwin's Novel "St. Leon"

Author Name : Dr. Ashutosh Kumar Bharti

ABSTRACT 'St. Leon' is the second well novel written by William Godwin and the novel explores the theme of immortality, the domestic affections (Love and friendship), honour and religion. Into a historical novel of vaslrange and violence, William Godwin meeds elements of the domestic novel, the philosophical novel and fantasy. This novel tests Godwin's philosophical premises, Showing the tensions between the aspiration to greatness and family affections and the disintegration of effective social responsibility. St. Leon is a tell of a French aristocrat Count Reginald de. St. Leon, who losses his wealth gaming and experiences guilt that derives him almost to madness. He accepts the secret of the elixir of life and of the power of multiplying wealth from a dying stranger, ultimately causing him to wonder separated from human kind in society. St. Leon: A tale of the sixteenth century (1799), the novel details the trials of an alchemist who gains the powers of the philosophers stone (enelless wealth) and elixir virtue (immortality)only to become alienated from his family and to fail miserably in his attemps to use these powers for himself and the larger social good. This tale lauds the importance of private affection and cautions against overly rapid social change two positions revised from political justice that were grudgingly accepted by Godwin's conservative Can servative critics : Instead of attacking the message, the majority of criticism focused on the mode of instructions", and a mode that today is recognizably Gothic novel.