The Castle of Otranto
Study Questions
“Preface to the First Edition”
What kind of persona does Walpole assume in the preface? What is his pretended role with regard to the novel? Why, in your opinion, did he choose to pretend not to be its author?
What is Walpole's professed attitude to Catholicism?
Chapter 1
How did Manfred's son die? What are the interpretations of his mysterious death?
What other mysterious events take place in the castle?
Why does Manfred wish to marry Isabella? Who helps Isabella to escape?
Chapter 2
What is the message of Father Jerome?
Who does Theodore turn out to be?
Chapter 3
What's the mission of the Knight of the Gigantic Sabre? Who is he in reality?
Chapter 4
What is Frederic's story? Why did he return to Italy?
What is Theodore's story? Why was he parted from his father?
What is Isabella's hidden intention in her conversation with Matilda?
How does Manfred propose to settle the question of succession to the principality of Otranto?
Chapter 5
What makes Frederic give up his intention of marrying Matilda?
Why does Manfred murder Matilda?
What are we to make of the conclusion? Is it all too neat, too formulaic, too convenient? What is the actual relationship of Theodore and Isabella at the end? Do they marry?
General questions
The protagonist of The Castle of Otranto is a man who:
- has a very tenuous claim to his throne and he hopes to strengthen his position by marrying a woman who is a relative of the last lawful ruler
- he suddenly remembers that he and his wife are distant cousins and he claims to believe that they are not married lawfully, despite the dispensation
- he wants to marry his son's fiancée because he wants desperately a male heir
Does it all ring a bell? What events from English history does it remind you of? How does it all square with Walpole's attitude to Roman Catholicism expressed in the Preface?
From its inception, the Gothic tale invited both flattering imitation and critical parody, and indeed the two are not always easy to distinguish. Furthermore, the first Gothic tale — The Castle of Otranto — itself seems rather like a parody of the genre it in fact inaugurates. What is it in the style or plot of the Gothic tale that invites these kinds of imitation?
In the Gothic novel, interiors are linked with danger. Threats come from within the house, within the family, and within the self. The ever-mounting sense of danger that characterizes the genre depends on the continual revelation of unsuspected depths.
How does The Castle of Otranto suggest and exploit associations among these different kinds of interior?
To what extent does the "Gothic" effect rely on the constant contrast between the familiar and the exotic?