To what extent can one regard Caleb Williams as an allegory of the character and effects of ‘tyranny’?

When William Godwin came to write Caleb Williams in 1793 he was already well-known in the British public as a radical political philosopher and as the author of An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, a political work which examined the institutions, nature and aims of man. His novel is valued today as a psychological drama, adventure story and thriller, but in the 1790s it was often seen as an extension or even simply a dramatisation of his political theories. ‘Tyranny’ was a key word of the time, referring to “cruel, unreasonable or arbitrary use of power or control” and much debated because of the French Revolution. Radicals like Godwin supported the Revolution, especially at the beginning, but became disillusioned with it later on as it appeared that rather than revolutionising the country it was simply replacing an old system of tyranny with a new one. In his controversial preface to the novel, Godwin explained that he was continuing this debate, and was providing “a g...