History Repeats Itself: The Cyclical Nature of Caleb Williams Anonymous College

They say that those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it; such is the curse of the characters in Caleb Williams, or Things As They Are, by William Godwin. Throughout the narrative, the characters are plagued by a repetition of history as the story unfolding in the present parallels many elements of the story from the past. Though Caleb Williams is the titular character, he is only one character wrapped up in the story’s cyclical theme; he is joined by his tormentor, Falkland, who plays a key role in both the past and present. Other figures from the past, Tyrrel and Emily Melville, play important parts in Caleb Williams’ recurring theme of history repeating itself.

In Volume I, Mr. Collins relays the story of Mr. Falkland’s past to Caleb, a younger man who has recently come under Falkland’s employ. The story prominently features a power struggle between Falkland and Mr. Tyrrel, the violent tyrant of the town who utilizes brute force to keep people under his self-assumed authority. The arrival of Falkland proves particularly troubling to Tyrrel because Falkland’s power of speech is a formidable match for Tyrrel’s power of force. This is exemplified in Book 1 Chapter 3 when Falkland uses his verbal power to...