Themes and Motifs of the Castle of Otranto
Otranto: The Novel that Created a Genre
Walpole’s, ‘The Castle of Otranto’, was written in 1764 and iscredited to be the first gothic novel. The story unfolds on Conrad’s birthday and his wedding day to the princess Isabella. Before the ceremony can begin, Conrad disappears. He is discovered dead in the Castle’s courtyard, crushed by a giant helmet.
The Prophecy of The Castle of Otranto
As a result of this a mysterious prophecy is revealed: ‘The Castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it.’ (Four Gothic Novels, 1994, pg. 17) This indicates that Manfred, Conrad’s father, is not the true heir of the Castle of Otranto. Later Theodore, who assists Isabella’s escape from Manfred, is revealed as the true heir.
’The Gothic novel derives from Elizabethan and Jacobean drama a fascination with grotesque violence, and from an erotic-sentimental novels plots that focus on a virtuous woman under sexual threat.’ (Richetti, 1996, pg.260) This is seen when Manfred pursues Isabella as his lover.
Now that Conrad is dead, Manfred has no male heir. He is pursuing Isabella with the hope of producing another male heir. Isabella’s horror at this incestuous relationship is not surprising. What is surprising is that this fear was a common one for many women.
Men, Women and Marriage in Otranto
‘Ten years before the publication of Otranto…Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act prohibiting clandestine marriages had become law, Clandestine marriages being those that fulfilled the Church’s legal requirements of free consent and no legal impediments.’ (Valdine, 1999, pg.32)
The changes in the law meant that marriages were achieved much easier. Isabella’s fear of Manfred then, is more realistic. The characters fears of marriage, the stereotypical dominant male, sex and rape reflect the fears of real women in this period of history.
Manfred: The Tyrant of Otranto
Manfred fulfils the criteria for the dominant male; as the head of the household he has the most power and this is reflected in the relationships between him and the other female characters. ‘I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province.’ (Four Gothic Novels, 1994, pg.37)
This behaviour draws a very realistic analogy between the characters and family structures in real life; women had no status or power at all.
Historical and Religious Interpretations of Otranto
What at first glance appears to be a flawed novel, uses gothic imagery and stereotypes to spectacularly and intelligently address social issues and asks radical questions which may have been previously overlooked. The Castle of Otranto has been described as ‘A very spirited modern attempt upon the same plan of mixed terror, adapted to the model of the gothic romance.’ (Hogel, 2002, pg.32)
References:
(1994), ‘Four Gothic Novels’ Oxford: Oxford University Press
Hogel, E.J., ed. (2002), ‘The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction’ Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Richetti, J., ed. (1996), ‘The Eighteenth Century Novel’ Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Valdine, C., (1999) ‘Return of the Repressed: Gothic Horror from the Castle of Otranto to Alien’ New York: State University of New York
