“Self-preservation is the great law of nature”

I wanted to look at the character of La Motte and to a lesser extent the character of the Marquis and go into detail about a few of their interactions in volume three.

                What really intrigued me were the conversations between the two characters at the abbey and the way that we can see the internal struggle of La Motte. Up until now La Motte really has been acting out of self –preservation, fleeing Paris to avoid being captured and in general looking out for number one. I really think that up to this point that La Motte has not shown many outward signs of remorse from self- reflection. It seems that Radcliffe has done this just to make La Motte’s epiphany that much greater when he does begin to reflect on what he has done. The catalyst for this reflection is the Marquis, who is a man of greater means both financially and socially and his request that La Motte kill Adeline. This of course causes La Motte to panic since he had grown fond of Adeline and had no desire to kill her.  The perfect summation of the moment of realization is right at the beginning of chapter 15 “He saw himself entangled in the web which his own crimes had woven.” Being in the power of the Marquis, he knew he must either consent to the commission of a deed, from the enormity of which, depraved as he was, he shrunk in horror, or sacrifice fortune, freedom, probably life itself, to the refusal.”

                I do not believe this revelation would have occurred if the request had not come from a socially equal or inferior person. Since it was the Marquis who asked for the death of Adeline, La Motte had to at least consider the consequences of A. what was being asked and B. what the repercussions were for refusing to do so would be. I believe it was because of the Marquis that we are able to see a shift in the character of La Motte from just acting out of self- preservation to looking to the safety of others.