HORACE WALPOLE

Horace Walpole was an English writer, author of The Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic Novel. The youngest
of the three sons of Sir Robert Walpole, minister of government under King George I and King George II, he
was educated in Cambridge. In 1737 his mother, Lady Walpole, to whom he was deeply attached, died, and
the same year his father married his maid. In those years Walpole began his famous, brilliant “Epistolario”,
more than three thousand letters of political, historical, artistic, literary and worldly nature, to which he owes,
together with “The castle of Otranto”, his fame as a writer. Back in England in 1741, thanks to his father's
support, he was elected to Parliament, but the following year, following his father's appointment as Earl of
Orford, he had to move in Houghton. He made his debut in 1748 as a poet, but without much success. In
1747 he rented the villa of Strawberry Hill on the banks of the Thames in the London suburb of Twinkenham
(he obtained full ownership only two years later), devoting himself for about forty years to transforming it
into a real small castle, well soon admired and famous throughout Europe, it is one of the examples of the
neo-gothic (gothic revival) based on a literary and theoretical approach, since he did not seek appropriate
materials and did not make use of specialized workers to make the furniture: on the walls there were copies
of portraits of the artist; the fireplace was inspired by the tomb of Archbishop Warham in Canterbury
Cathedral; the chairs and table were from the late seventeenth century and came from the East Indies. The
villa will even be equipped, starting in 1757, with a private printing house which will publish most of the
writer's production. He died in London on March 2, 1797.

THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO

Short plot
Manfred, king and patron of the castle is ready to attend the wedding of his sickly son
Conrad and princess Isabella. Shortly before the wedding, Conrad is crushed to death by a
gigantic helmet that falls on him from above. This inexplicable event is particularly ominous
in light of an ancient prophecy, "that the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from
the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it".
Manfred, terrified by the possible end for his line, resolves to avert destruction by marrying
Isabella, while divorcing his current wife, Hippolita, because she has failed to bear him a
proper heir. However, as Manfred attempts to marry Isabella, she escapes to a church with
the aid of a peasant named Theodore. Manfred orders Theodore's death while talking to
the friar Jerome, who ensured Isabella's safety at the church. When Theodore removes his
shirt to be killed, Jerome recognizes a marking below his shoulder and identifies Theodore
as his own son. Jerome begs for his son's life, but Manfred says Jerome must either give
up the princess or his son's life. They are interrupted by a trumpet and the entrance of
knights from another kingdom, who want to deliver Isabella. This leads the knights and
Manfred to race to find Isabella. Theodore, having been locked in a tower by Manfred, is
freed by Manfred's daughter, Matilda. He races to the underground church and finds
Isabella. He hides her in a cave and blocks it to protect her from Manfred and ends up
fighting one of the mysterious knights. Theodore badly injures the knight, who turns out to
be Isabella's father, Frederic. With that, they all go up to the castle to work things out.
Frederic falls in love with Matilda and he and Manfred make a deal about marrying each
other's daughters. Frederic backs out after being warned by an apparition of a skeleton.
Manfred, suspecting that Isabella is meeting Theodore in a tryst in the church, takes a
knife into the church, where Matilda is meeting Theodore. Thinking his own daughter is
Isabella, he stabs her. Theodore is then revealed to be the true prince of Otranto as
Matilda dies, leaving Manfred to repent. A giant ghostly form appears, declares the
prophecy fulfilled and shatters the castle walls. Manfred abdicates the principality and
retires to religion along with Hippolita. Theodore becomes prince of the remains of the
castle and is married to Isabella, for she is the only one who can truly understand his
sorrow.
- The title of his book, The Castle of Otranto, is associated to the idea of home/house and space. In the book
there is an influence of his real house on the places that appears to be fictional. Combination of his real
house and fictional world.
- When Walpole explains the genesis of the novel, he tells that he had a dream and that he developed this
one into a novel. When he decided to name his novel, he thought that this one could be attractive because
of the sounds. He was just using the name of Otranto for his own sound.
- His “villa” was restored and he decided to make it like a gothic and medieval castle. This house becomes
the architectural model for the castle described in the novel. This novel goes back to the idea of past that
shows the fact that the world is lost.
- The author is Horace Walpole, but in the first preface we don’t have the name of the author himself. The
author is disguised.
- Walpole, writing in the guise of William Marshal, a gentleman, states that this manuscript was found in
the library of an ancient Catholic family in northern England. It was printed in 1529 in Naples, and its
language and style are Italian. The events probably happened between 1095 and 1243.
- He does need to hide his identity. He was son of Walpole so he needed to hide himself from the public
because he was son of the Prime minister
- Because the volume was so well received, Walpole is compelled to come clean that he did not find the
manuscript but wrote rather it himself. His intent was to let the public impartially judge his work. He also
wanted to meld the ancient and modern kinds of romance: in the former, everything is imagination and
improbability; in the latter, nature is present and is copied with success.
- Walpole thinks it was possible to reconcile the ancient and modern and have his characters act according
to laws of probability—to act like real men and women. Shakespeare was his model here, for the
nobleness of his characters is “artificially exalted” by the rudeness of the lesser sorts.Walpole writes that
he seeks cover under Shakespeare, “the brightest genius this country…has produced”. He is proud, no
matter how feeble or derivative his efforts, to have imitated Shakespeare rather than creating his own
rules. At the very least, the public seems to have liked it.
- This one book is presented as translated by William Marshal from the original by Onuphrio Muralto.
Another motive why he chooses to use a Pretext is because he wanted to connect Reality and Fable.
- In the second preface he comes clear and
- He found the book in the library of a wealthy family in the North of England (probably in Scotland), but
he places the text at the height of the Renaissance, in an earlier temporal dimension and with a different
context, since England is not reformed. The story had been written and printed in Naples and it is about
the time of the Crusades. In the second edition he reveals himself and explains that the book was well
received by the public, but apologizes for using a character who lent the name.
- The book features supernatural elements: ghosts, helmets of unrealistic dimensions, fake identities.
Walpole's Gothic novel, compared to the ideology of that period, brings into play critical contents. The
author wants to lead the rules of what happens.
- The book represents a “Break of Order” because it explains the Rationality of the English society in the
second half of the 18th century.
- The Helmet (the object that kills Manfred’s son) is the punishment of the original sin against the Natural
Order. The punishment is deriving from Manfred’s behavior. In fact, he doesn’t respect the moral code
and even Isabella is shocked. The “rules” are not respected. The Novel can be considered ad a Pastiche
because it has a lot of different styles and registers.

Chapter 1:
- The chapter opens up with the presentation of the main characters and the Marriage between Conrad,
Manfred’s son, and Isabella, a noble-woman that was entrusted to Manfred. This marriage should have
saved prince Manfred from an evil prophecy, that he did not understood: “the real heir of Otranto would
come and take the old master's place because he will be too old to stay there”.
- Soon after, everyone discovers that Conrad has been killed by a giant helmet. No-one knows where it
came from but, a young visitor, from a near village, tells that it is identical to the one in St. Nicholas.
Manfred is angry and believes that he killed his son, so he imprison him.
- Manfred does not want to see Ippolita (he wants to divorce her) or Matilda, but Isabella is the one to be
called. He tries to persuade her to marry him because he need an heir but Isabella hears a big noise, and
taking advantage of Manfred's distraction, run away and tries to find a secret passage in the castle’s
underground.
- She finds the passage but discover that there is a man, which is Theodore (the guy who has been
imprisoned by Manfred), that promises to help her and to go away with her. In that exact moment,
Manfred, who was following Isabella, arrives and finds him
- Manfred is distracted by two domestics because they claim that they saw a giant and are scared
- Theodore offers to take a look and Manfred decides to accept his offer. Soon after, he discovers that there
is no giant (Ippolita and the chaplain searched all the gallery and the saloon and find nothing) and he
decides to close/lock all the doors and sleep.

Chapter 2:
- Matilda does not understand why his father behaves like this and wants to find out the reasons. She is used
to that behavior for herself, but she is afraid because of her mother. She can't stand when her father treats
her like that.
- Bianca, a lady-in-waiting, arrives and tells everything that she knows about the stranger and the events of
the day. Isabella is lost, she said to Matilda, and there is nowhere to find her. Suddenly, they hear a voice
and they open the window to find out who is talking. Matilda understands that there is a stranger, who is
melancholic because he does not want to be in the castle (it is Theodore, imprisoned again). Matilda offers
to help him but then she understand that he is looking for Isabella and fears that he is there to find out
Manfred’s secrets so she shut the window and stops talking.
- Matilda thinks that Theodore and Isabella could be overs and doubts about her escape. Then, she
understands that she had a good motive if she decided to leave
- Friar Gerome wants to talk to Manfred and Ippolita about Isabella, who is now in the church, but Manfred
does not want to, because Ippolita knows nothing. Friar Gerome makes Manfred believe he is on his side
and Manfred tries to understand something about Theodore's story with Isabella. When he understand that
he helped her escape, he condemns him to death.
- Friar Gerome finds out that Theodore is his own son and he tells Manfred that he is a nobleman too,
because he is the Count of Falconara.
- Manfred agrees to spare Theodore's life as long as Father Jerome makes Isabella heed Manfred's will.
Chapter 3:
- Sound of trumpets and the plumes of the giant helmet make Manfred afraid that they are warning signs, so
he begs Father Jerome to tell him what the signs mean and to pray for him. Friar Jerome tells Manfred to
"submit to the church and cease to persecute her ministers." The friar also tells Manfred to free Theodore.
Manfred agrees on the condition but Friar Jerome will go and see who is at the front gate.
- A herald is at the gate and wants to talk to the usurper of Otranto (Manfred). He explains that Isabella has
been kept unlawfully from her legal guardians and Frederic (the true heir of Otranto, and nearest of blood
to Alfonso the Good) wants her back. Manfred, believing Frederic to have died in the Crusades, purposely
persuaded Isabella's legal guardians to let her live and be raised in Otranto and grow up to marry Conrad.
It was Manfred's hope to unite his house with Frederic's and stop the dispute over rights to Otranto.
- This is the reason Manfred has been so desperate to marry Isabella ever since Conrad died. Manfred keeps
his thoughts to himself and asks the herald to invite the knight and his retinue inside the castle so that they
can discuss the disagreement and avoid bloodshed.
- Manfred tries to convince the knights crying about the death of his son Conrad and how the church will
force him to divorce Hippolita (which is a lie) for being "related within the forbidden degrees" with
Manfred.
- Friar Jerome a would like to see Manfred immediately, because he is terrified he will hurt Theodore, and
he blurts out that Isabella has run away and that it isn't his fault. Another friar tells the truth about Isabella
running away the night before to escape Manfred.
- The principal knight becomes upset and orders to rush out and find Isabella. As a method of protecting his
own interest, Manfred sends his attendants and the friars after Isabella too.
- During the chaos, Matilda goes to see Theodore and frees him. Theodore escapes, kissing Matilda's hand
and swearing to be her knight.
- Theodore then goes to the convent to say goodbye to Friar Jerome, but he isn't there. The other friars tell
Theodore about Isabella's situation and Theodore leaves, heading to the forest.
- Theodore enters some labyrinthine caves. He decides to explore the caves in case there are thieves inside,
which leads him to discover Isabella is also hiding in the caves.
- Theodore tells Isabella that he was not sent to retrieve her for Manfred, and she is thankful. She thinks
Theodore must be her guardian angel. They retreat back into the cave.
- When a knight approaches, Theodore puts himself between Isabella and the knight, believing him to be
one of Manfred's men. The knight believes the same of Theodore, and they fight.
- Theodore wounds the knight in three places, and the knight faints from loss of blood. He rouses just
enough for Theodore to discover he has accidentally injured an enemy of Manfred's. The knight begs to
speak with Isabella because he has a secret from her father that he must tell her.
- Isabella emerges from deeper within the cave, and the dying knight reveals he is her father, Frederic, and
he came to deliver her from Manfred. Isabella is saddened and stunned. The knight's dying wish is for
Theodore to protect Isabella, and he agrees. They bandage Frederic's wounds and bring him to the castle
in an attempt to save his life.

Chapter 4:
- The castle’s doctors examine Frederic’s wounds, none of which are life-threatening. Frederic meets
Hippolita and Matilda, and falls in love with Matilda. And though Matilda’s love for Theodore remains,
she is uncertain of his love for her because he arrived at the castle with Isabella, who is also clearly in love
with Theodore. Frederic tells them all his backstory: he fought in the Crusades and was captured by
“infidels.” He dreamt that his daughter was in danger and that he would learn more about what to do by
going to a forest near Joppa. He searched for the forest and was led to a hermit on his deathbed, which
told Frederic about a secret from St. Nicholas: where to find a giant sword. Once Frederic and his men
unearthed the sword, they saw that it contained a prophecy saying that “Alfonso’s blood alone” can save
Isabella at Otranto.
- Manfred arrives and is shocked to see Theodore, whom he mistakes for Alfonso. When Manfred realizes
it is Theodore, he is furious that he escaped. Assuming Jerome helped him, Manfred demands to know
how Theodore came to be separated from and then reunited with his father. Theodore reveals that he was
kidnapped as a child by pirates, along with his mother. Though she died not long after, she left him a note
saying that he was the son of the Count of Falconara. He remained the pirates slave until two years before
the story takes place, when a Christian ship set him free. After unsuccessfully searching for his father at
his castle and in Naples, he wandered into Otranto and began to work as a farmhand in order to support
himself. Frederic vouches for Theodore’s bravery, warmth, and honesty, after which they all retire to their
rooms.
- The next day, Matilda and Isabella decide to meet, as they are both in love with Theodore. Aware that
Theodore is in love with Matilda, Isabella decides to encourage Matilda to become a nun as she always
wanted, while Matilda wishes to find out from Isabella if Theodore has feelings for her. After some
awkwardness in which both women are reluctant to admit their feelings, Isabella confesses that Theodore
is in love with Matilda. Both women try to give up their claim to the other for the sake of their friendship,
until they are interrupted by the arrival of Hippolita.
- She believes that Otranto will fall into Frederic’s hands, announces that she has proposed to Manfred a
marriage between Frederic and Matilda in order to unite the claims of both lines. The two young
princesses are horrified
- Isabella tells Hippolita that Manfred intends to divorce her, but Hippolita makes excuses for her husband,
suggesting that Isabella perhaps misunderstood the situation
- She then resolves to agree to the divorce and to become a nun in one of the nearby convents . When
Isabella begins to pray to the angels of heaven that she won’t have to marry Manfred, Hippolita stops her,
reminding her that her father has authority over her.
- Hippolita finds Jerome in the church, which is urging his son to suppress his feelings for Matilda.
Theodore finds himself unable to stop loving Matilda and Hippolita asks Jerome to dismiss his son. Once
they are alone asks for his opinion about marriages between Matilda and Frederic, and between Isabella
and Manfred, as well as her consent to a divorce. Though Hippolita finds both proposals agreeable,
Jerome vehemently opposes them, explaining that a divorce resulting in the marriage between Manfred
and Isabella would be against heavenly will.
- Manfred is proposing to Frederic that they marry each other’s daughters. Frederic, tempted by the
prospects of eventually ruling Otranto and marriage to Matilda, weakly protests the double marriage for
the sake of appearances, but eventually agrees on the condition that Hippolita give her consent.
- Manfred then immediately seeks out Hippolita, who is still talking to Jerome at the church. As they have
done so several times already, Manfred and Jerome engage in a verbal tussle about whether Jerome ’s
religious authority supersedes Manfred’s political authority. Manfred, claiming to know the procedures
for divorce better than Jerome, leads Hippolita away to speak with her privately. But before he leaves, he
secretly orders one of his spies to remain in the church.

Chapter 5:
- Frederic meets the ghost which commands him to forget Matilda.
- A spy tells Manfred that Theodore is having a meeting with one of the ladies and he believes it is Isabella.
He rushes to the convent, takes the two by surprise and stabs the woman at her back: but it is Matilda, his
own daughter.
- Matilda is mortally wounded. She forgives her father. Theodore is wild for the pain and wants to marry
Matilda. Matilda dies.
- Now the ghost of Alfonso appears and the castle is deeply shaken. The ghost indicates Theodore as his
rightful heir. Manfred ceases to be the villain he has been till now and reveals that Alfonso had been
poisoned by his grandfather.
- Manfred and Hippolita retire to the convent to a life of prayer.
- Theodore becomes the prince of Otranto and marries Isabella.
IMPORTANCE OF OBJECTS:

HELMET: it is the 1st supernatural element that we find in the novel. Ita purpose is to avoid Manfred to
become the Heir of Otranto’s castle. That is because his grandfather killed the real heir and prince, Alfonso.
This is his punishment. It represent the punishment from the Original Sin

ANIMATED PORTRAIT: Manfred is scared by it an it allows Isabella to escape from Manfred’s purpose of
marriage

TRAP DOOR: it is important because it helps Isabella to escape when she is persecuted by Manfred

In the preface the the 1st edition he is in incognito and he states that he found this story in a private library of
a noble family. He also claims that the story is written in Italian in Naples. In the 2nd edition preface, he
comes clear and reveals that he wrote the novel. He uses this stratagem because he does not want the reader
to judge prior to reading the whole novel.

Different Genres
Melodrama because it is easy to distinguish between good and evil
Theatrical because he uses that kind of expressions in the dialogues between characters

Order/Disorder
In the book “La poétique de l’espace”, Bachelard says that the house and the castle are associated with
Verticality: Up we have organized places and situations and Down we have darkness. Order is above and
Disorder is downstairs. What is outside the castle is considered to be Order. In fact, characters can’t escape
the castle to reach that Order.
One time, the castle represented the order but in this case, the situation is different

We also have to mention the dichotomies

Up and Down
Truth and Corruption
Light and Darkness
That are connected with the Vertical order of the Castle itself

Mirella Billi
Revaluation of the Gothic architecture
Walpole decided to rebuild his house using the Gothic architecture and in fact, his house Strawberry Hill was
restored by the architect Buckley and was full of gothic elements like stairs, statues of armors, etc
It was in fact important to make a connection between the place in which the author lived and the place that
he was trying to describe and set his story in.