The Castle of Otranto

“[…] he beheld his child dashed to pieces, and almost buried under an enormous helmet, an hundred times more large than any casque ever made for human being, and shaded with a proportionable quantity of black feathers.”

After Conrad is crushed to death under a giant helmet, Otranto’s servants recognize it as having come from a suit of arms on a statue of Alfonso the Good located at the Church of St. Nicholas. The weapon presents readers with an eerie mystery of how something so large could have fallen from the ceiling of the castle—it is far too large to have been moved by any person. Though no one is willing to believe it yet, the helmet is the first supernatural event that presages the hauntings to come.

“In the midst of their senseless guesses, a young peasant, whom rumour had drawn thither from a neighbouring village, observed that the miraculous helmet was exactly like that on the figure in black marble of Alfonso the Good, one of their former princes, in the church of St. Nicholas.”

As the castle speculates who could have murdered Conrad, a peasant advances the theory that the helmet was that of Alfonso the Good’s statue, suggesting the possibility of supernatural occurrences at the castle. Although this seemingly wild supposition turns out to be the case, this passage also points to the dangers of hearsay and rumor.

“‘Think no more of him,’ interrupted Manfred; ‘he was a sickly, puny child, and Heaven has perhaps taken him away, that I might not trust the honours of my house on so frail a foundation. The line of Manfred calls for numerous supports. My foolish fondness for that boy blinded the eyes of my prudence—but it is better as it is. I hope, in a few years, to have reason to rejoice at the death of Conrad.’”

Manfred’s response to Conrad’s death provides insight into Manfred’s values. While he favored his son as his only heir, Manfred sees Conrad’s death as a relief—the young man was sickly and weak, so Manfred believes he would not have been able to carry on the family line anyway. Manfred’s monomaniacal obsession with ensuring Otranto passes to another member of his family makes him coldly dismiss his former fondness for his son and accept that his death is actually a reason to celebrate.

“At that instant the portrait of his grandfather, which hung over the bench where they had been sitting, uttered a deep sigh, and heaved its breast.”

The portrait of Manfred’s grandfather reminds readers of the family lineage and importance to Otranto. Moreover, the portrait’s ability to utter a “deep sigh” and “heave its breast” establishes a classic element of the Gothic literary tradition: inanimate objects, especially people within paintings, coming to life.

“Ashamed, too, of his inhuman treatment of a Princess who returned every injury with new marks of tenderness and duty, he felt returning love forcing itself into his eyes; but not less ashamed of feeling remorse towards one against whom he was inwardly meditating a yet more bitter outrage, he curbed the yearnings of his heart, and did not dare to lean even towards pity. The next transition of his soul was to exquisite villainy.”

This quotation characterizes Manfred as the story’s antagonist. He recognizes that he does not treat his wife and daughter properly while they return nothing but adoration for him, an instance of the novella portraying Women as Weak, Distressed Possessions. However, he does not feel remorse for his actions, which solidifies his place as the villain.

“‘Heavens! Bianca,’ said the Princess softly, ‘do I dream? or is not that youth the exact resemblance of Alfonso’s picture in the gallery?’”

Matilda, whose prayers to Alfonso the Good, the respected and well-liked former ruler of Otranto, are often mistaken for romantic obsession, believes that Theodore resembles Alfonso’s portrait. This foreshadows the revelation that Theodore is Alfonso’s grandson and that he will be proclaimed the rightful heir to Otranto.

“We are all reptiles, miserable, sinful creatures. It is piety alone that can distinguish us from the dust whence we sprung, and whither we must return.”

The quotation reinforces the novel’s theme that divine intervention is the only thing that can supersede authoritarian rule, or that Divine Power Rewards Bloodlines and Noble Behavior. We are reminded that we are all—including would-be princes like Manfred—sinners. For the novel’s powerless characters, such as its women, pious Christian belief is the only recourse.

“At the same instant the sable plumes on the enchanted helmet, which still remained at the other end of the court, were tempestuously agitated, and nodded thrice, as if bowed by some invisible wearer.”

The helmet is an important symbol in the novella. Not only does it crush Manfred’s son, Conrad, to death, but its agitated plumes, or feathers, move on their own, creating supernatural commentary on the events in the castle. The helmet becomes agitated when Manfred is sentencing Theodore to death for his suspected involvement in Conrad’s murder—the spirit of Alfonso reacts negatively to Manfred’s corruption.

“‘My Lord,’ replied Jerome, ‘heaven is no doubt displeased with your mockery of its servants. Submit yourself to the church; and cease to persecute her ministers. Dismiss this innocent youth; and learn to respect the holy character I wear. Heaven will not be trifled with: you see—' the trumpet sounded again.”

Father Jerome’s comment to Manfred reinforces the theme that heaven holds the highest power over humanity. Jerome, a friar whose authority comes from the Catholic Church, asks Manfred to stop mistreating his underlings, pointedly calling them “God’s servants” rather than Manfred’s, implying that eventually, Manfred will have to face divine judgment for his misdeeds.

“When the news reached Manfred’s ears, he bribed the guardians of the Lady Isabella to deliver her up to him as a bride for his son Conrad, by which alliance he had proposed to unite the claims of the two houses.”

Fearing an ancient prophecy that predicts that Otranto’s rule will fall to a different family once the current ruler ousted, Manfred arranged through underhanded chicanery for Isabella to marry his son Conrad—an example of a character acting rationally and realistic in the face of supernatural events, as befits Walpole’s project of Blending Medieval Romances and the Novel. It is one of several extreme efforts Manfred undertakes to protect his bloodline and right to Otranto, despite his family’s illegitimate claim to its throne.

“‘’Tis well,’ said Manfred; ‘then hear what I have to offer. Ye see, gentlemen, before you, the most unhappy of men!’ (he began to weep); ‘afford me your compassion; I am entitled to it, indeed I am. Know, I have lost my only hope, my joy, the support of my house—Conrad died yester morning.’”

Acting distraught over the loss of his son Conrad, Manfred demands the pity of the people of Otranto. But this brief show of emotion is merely a selfish ruse—in reality, Manfred is mostly upset that Conrad’s death means he has lost his only heir, without whom he cannot continue ruling Otranto.

“The domestics, officious to obey so peremptory a Prince, and urged by their own curiosity and love of novelty to join in any precipitate chase, had to a man left the castle. Matilda disengaged herself from her women, stole up to the black tower, and unbolting the door, presented herself to the astonished Theodore.”

In a pivotal moment, Matilda, breaking from the traditional expectations of a patriarchal power structure that Women should be Weak, Distressed Possessions, decides to directly disobey her father and free Theodore from confinement. Matilda briefly demonstrates power that most women did not have, nor could readily exercise.

“‘Oh! amazement! horror! what do I hear! what do I see!’ cried Isabella. ‘My father! You my father! How came you here, Sir? For heaven’s sake, speak! Oh! run for help, or he will expire!’”

When Frederic, Isabella’s father, comes to Otranto to demand that his daughter be returned to him, his appearance and backstory demonstrate how much Walpole was influenced by chivalric romances. Frederic learned of Isabella’s misfortunes from a prophetic dream and was guided to a weapon that could defeat the dastardly Manfred by a magical hermit in the woods—supernatural elements that feature regularly in courtly romance. Moreover, his decision to disguise himself as a knight before revealing his true identity—a disguise that allows him to be accidentally stabbed—is part of the coincidence-heavy plotting that romances were known for.

“‘My sons,’ said he, ‘I am bounden to your charity—but it is in vain—I am going to my eternal rest—yet I die with the satisfaction of performing the will of heaven. When first I repaired to this solitude, after seeing my country become a prey to unbelievers—it is alas! above fifty years since I was witness to that dreadful scene! St. Nicholas appeared to me, and revealed a secret, which he bade me never disclose to mortal man, but on my death-bed. This is that tremendous hour, and ye are no doubt the chosen warriors to whom I was ordered to reveal my trust. As soon as ye have done the last offices to this wretched corpse, dig under the seventh tree on the left hand of this poor cave, and your pains will—Oh! good heaven receive my soul!’ With those words the devout man breathed his last.”

Frederic’s explanation for how he ended up at Otranto blends historically accurate details like the Crusades with supernatural occurrences that give the newly created Gothic genre its signature element. After being captured, Frederic had a dream that his daughter was confined in a castle; answering his dream led him to a dying hermit in the forest of Joppa, who directed Frederic to the sword with Otranto’s ancient prophecy written on it—the same hermit whose ghost will later spur Frederic to renounce his lust for Matilda to rid Otranto of Manfred.

“‘I want no assistance; my story is very brief. I was carried at five years of age to Algiers with my mother, who had been taken by corsairs from the coast of Sicily. She died of grief in less than a twelvemonth;’ the tears gushed from Jerome’s eyes, on whose countenance a thousand anxious passions stood expressed. ‘Before she died,’ continued Theodore, ‘she bound a writing about my arm under my garments, which told me I was the son of the Count Falconara.’”

In another interpolated tale, a key feature of chivalric romances, Theodore reveals his identity and tells the story of his life. Father Jerome, who is also Theodore’s father, figures out who Theodore is because of a birthmark. This tale of mistaken identity, misadventures at sea, and the use of a distinguishing skin characteristic to recognize a person’s true self are well-known tropes of epics, myths, and other traditions that preceded realistic fiction.

“‘Bless me,’ said Matilda, ‘did not you observe his extreme resemblance to the portrait of Alfonso in the gallery? I took notice of it to Bianca even before I saw him in armour; but with the helmet on, he is the very image of that picture.’”

Throughout the novel, Matilda worships both the statue of Alfonso in the church and his portrait in the gallery at Otranto. Thus, when Matilda first sees Theodore’s face, she is in a perfect position to realize that he resembles this former ruler—a similarity that foreshadows the eventual revelation that Theodore is Alfonso’s grandson and the rightful heir to Otranto.

“I was contracted to the son, can I wed the father? No, madam, no; force should not drag me to Manfred’s hated bed. I loathe him, I abhor him: divine and human laws forbid—and my friend, my dearest Matilda! would I wound her tender soul by injuring her adored mother? my own mother—I never have known another—”

Although the novella often shows Women as Weak, Distressed Possessions, here we see that their obedience to the powerful men around them does not always trump their loyalty to one another. Isabella is aware of Manfred’s intentions to wed her in a bid to have more sons. However, because Isabella is loyal to Hippolita and Matilda, who would have become her mother- and sister-in-law, Isabella has extra incentive to avoid being forced to marry Manfred.

“‘Oh! my mother,’ said Matilda, ‘you mean to quit us: you mean to take sanctuary, and to give my father an opportunity of pursuing his fatal intention. Alas! on my knees I supplicate you to forbear; will you leave me a prey to Frederic? I will follow you to the convent.’”

When Hippolita announces her willingness to divorce Manfred at his whim and enter the convent to become a nun, Matilda becomes the voice of reason, begging her mother to reconsider. Matilda knows that if Hippolita follows Manfred’s wishes, then Matilda might have to marry Frederic despite being in love with Theodore.

“‘It is sinful,’ replied the Friar, ‘to cherish those whom heaven has doomed to destruction. A tyrant’s race must be swept from the earth to the third and fourth generation.’”

Father Jerome’s comment reinforces the power of divine justice. The prophecy that guards Otranto from illegitimate rule has doomed not only Manfred, but also the next generations that could inherit the throne from him. This is why Conrad and Matilda, who are innocent of Manfred’s machinations, must also die: Father Jerome explains that a tyrant is not fully ousted from power until several generations of his descendants have been destroyed.

“‘Reverend Father, I sought the Lady Hippolita.’ ‘Hippolita!’ replied a hollow voice; ‘camest thou to this castle to seek Hippolita?’ and then the figure, turning slowly round, discovered to Frederic the fleshless jaws and empty sockets of a skeleton, wrapt in a hermit’s cowl.”

Once, a dying hermit in the forest of Joppa pointed Frederic toward a magical sword that would allow him to rescue his daughter Isabella. Now, the skeletal ghost of the same hermit appears once again to guide Frederic to the right path: Instead of seeking marriage with Matilda, Frederic need to let go of his lust and continue with his goal of ridding Otranto of Manfred.

“‘Ah, me, I am slain!’ cried Matilda, sinking. ‘Good heaven, receive my soul!’”

Mistaking his daughter for Isabella, Manfred stabs Matilda while she discusses marriage with Theodore. Her request for heaven to receive her soul illustrates her acceptance of her fate as well as her belief in a higher power.

“Matilda, resigning herself patiently to her fate, acknowledged with looks of grateful love the zeal of Theodore. Yet oft as her faintness would permit her speech its way, she begged the assistants to comfort her father.”

In patiently accepting her fate, Matilda demonstrates some of the only power the novella’s female characters have: the kind of forbearance that eventually inspires shame in the men around them. In this case, Matilda’s insistence that her servants take care of Manfred instead of her finally jolts this tyrant into renouncing his actions and leaving Otranto.

“‘Forgive thee! Murderous monster!’ cried Manfred, ‘can assassins forgive? I took thee for Isabella; but heaven directed my bloody hand to the heart of my child. Oh, Matilda!—I cannot utter it—canst thou forgive the blindness of my rage?’”

In a final turning point for his character, Manfred demonstrates true remorse for killing Matilda and asks for forgiveness. For the entirety of his reign at Otranto, Manfred has believed that his power was above that of God. At this moment, however, he realizes that he has been subject to divine retribution: “heaven directed [his] bloody hand” and is responsible for what he has done to his daughter.