Kevin Bowers, Lillian Calcaterra, Rebecca
Dickinson, Rae Felts, Ryan MacInnis, & Debbie
Santos
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Manfred: Manfred is the lord of the Castle of Otranto. He is the father of
Conrad and Matilda and the husband of Hippolita. he becomes obsessed
with the idea of ending his marriage for the much younger Isabella, who
was supposed to marry his son.
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Hippolita: Hippolita is the wife of Manfred and the mother of Conrad and
Matilda.
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Conrad: Son of Manfred and Hippolita. In the first pages of the novel, he
is crushed by a giant helmet on his way to his wedding with Isabella.
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Matilda: Matilda is the daughter of Hippolita and Manfred. At the end of
the novel, she is accidentally stabbed by her father.
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Isabella: Isabella is the daughter of Frederic and the fiancée of
Conrad After the death of Matilda, Theodore settles for Isabella and the
two become the lord and lady of the castle.
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Theodore: Theodore appears to be a mere minor character, However,
he emerges as a main character after Manfred orders him to be
imprisoned. He is revealed later in the novel to be lost son of Friar
Jerome. He also later goes on to rule the Castle of Otranto.
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Friar Jerome: He is the Friar at the monastery near the Castle of
Otranto. It is later discovered that he is Theodore’s father.
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Bianca: Bianca is the servant of Matilda
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The scene where Conrad dies is extremely important.
His first words that he utters are “take care of Lady
Isabella” (Walpole 29). Here rather than inquiring
about his son’s status or even grieving, he turns to
his family and instructs them to take care of Isabella.
Here, is where we see his love for Isabella start to
flourish as he neglects his family.
These two scenes really show who Manfred is as a
character as he neglected his children and epitomizes
a sadistic, narcissistic villain. His lack of love for his
children is evident in these two scenes as his
selfishness and neglect for their wellbeing really
hones in on his character.
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Right before Theodore tells his story, and Jerome is realized as his
“wretched father” Manfred recognizes him as Alfonso. He even
admits, “he has unhinged the soul of Manfred” (80)
Theodore starts his story: “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,” Theodore continued, “she bound a writing about my arm
under my garments, which told me I was the son of the Count
Falconara.”-“It is most true,” said Jerome; “I am that wretched
father.” (81)
This scene is one of great importance because we can now see that
Manfred is not the heir to the castle and neither are his children,
whether a son or daughter. It causes the story another twist, and
gives us the truth we are looking for.
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“The Marquis was not surprised at the silence
that reigned in the Princess’s
apartment…Quitting the Princess thus abruptly,
he hastened to his own apartment inwards” (99).
Although we only know Fredric as Isabella’s
father and the king of another city, his want to
marry Matilda is clearly not going over well. This
scene shows us the importance of the
supernatural in this story, and gives us a sense of
how much they took into account any run ins
with the spirits. Fredric has his heart set on
marrying Matilda, but is tossed into a fit of
emotions in the oratory as soon as the spirit
makes his decree.
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Frederic, the father of Isabella (also called “the
marquis”) is visited by a spectre in chapter five
(page 99). This spectre is a skeleton wearing
ragged clothing. Frederic finds him in Hippolita’s
apartment, kneeling in front of an altar.
When the spectre turns around Frederic falls
down on his knees, in fear. He says “Angels of
grace, protect me!” The spectre replies “Deserve
their protection!” The spectre is a “holy hermit”
who has come to Frederic to tell him “To forget
Matilda!” He also reminds Frederic of “the wood
of Joppa” and the “buried sabre.”
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The death scene, in which Manfred mistakes
Isabella for his own daughter is a crucial point
in the novel. Theodore says “Manfred will never
permit this union”-“No this shall prevent it!”
cried the tyrant, drawing his dagger, and
plunging it over her shoulder into the bosom of
the person that spoke” (Walpole 101). This
scene shows the monstrous acts by Manfred
when he hears that Isabella and Theodore will
wed. This confusion of identity relates to
Manfred’s relationship with Matilda as he
shows her no compassion or human
recognition.
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When Manfred and Hippolita sign themselves
over to the Monastic life. In the very end of
the book both know that they are not large
and in charge anymore, so Manfred basically
admits defeat and takes the easy way out by
entering the Monastery. He was able to avoid
any consequence by this decision, and giving
the castle over to its rightful prince,
Theodore. (106 in the last paragraph)
Walpole, Horace. The Castle of Otranto.
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004. Print.