The Bleeding Nun/Beatrice Character Analysis in The Monk

The bleeding nun is a spectral figure who haunts the castle of Lindenberg (where Agnes, the baron, and the baroness live) following her brutal murder at the hands of her lover. She emerges for one night, once every five years, to freely roam the halls of the castle. On the night of the bleeding nun’s next anticipated haunting, Agnes—who believes her family’s tales of the nun to be superstitious nonsense—hatches a plan to disguise herself as the nun in order to escape the castle and elope with Raymond. However, the plan fails when Raymond drives away with the real bleeding nun, mistakenly assuming she is Agnes in disguise. The bleeding nun proceeds to torment Raymond—who turns out to be her distant descendent—until he locates her remains in Lindenberg and lays them to rest in the family burial grounds.

The Bleeding Nun/Beatrice Character Timeline in The Monk

The timeline below shows where the character The Bleeding Nun/Beatrice appears in The Monk. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...sees that Agnes is drawing a nun covered in blood. Agnes calmly explains that “ the bleeding nun ” is a famous legend that her family has believed in for many generations. She... (full context)

According to Agnes, the bleeding nun is an apparition who roams the hallways of the castle of Lindenberg at night, knocking... (full context)

When Raymond asks whether Agnes believes in the bleeding nun , Agnes says she’s too sensible to believe in such superstition. At this point, Agnes... (full context)

Agnes tells Raymond her plan. It’s now April 30—meaning the bleeding nun ’s arrival is imminent. Agnes plans to disguise herself as the nun on that night,... (full context)

...he and Agnes have agreed upon. He spots Agnes at the gates, dressed to resemble the bleeding nun , and draws her into a deep embrace. “I am thine!” he cries out to... (full context)

...night, Raymond is alone in his sleeping quarters when the door blows open to reveal the bleeding nun herself. Raymond looks upon his spectral visitor with horror as she repeats back to him... (full context)

...at the castle, Cunegonda revealed Agnes’s plan, and everyone agreed that it was the real bleeding nun who had left with Raymond. With no other choice, and having been convinced by her... (full context)

...a “melancholy” demeanor. The stranger tells Raymond that he knows about his secret and that the bleeding nun won’t visit him again after this coming Saturday. The stranger promises to return then. With... (full context)

...the goblet and beckons Raymond to step inside it. Then the stranger calls the name Beatrice three times, and the nun—Beatrice—appears. The stranger threatens Beatrice with the crucifix and demands that... (full context)

The stranger explains Beatrice’s scandalous and tragic past. Her parents forced her to become a nun when she was... (full context)

Beatrice began to haunt Otto, standing before his bed each night holding the dagger that killed... (full context)

Raymond continues his story. He locates the bleeding nun ’s remains inside the Lindenberg Hole and, upon burying them, her apparition no longer haunts... (full context)