Castle of Otranto

Castle of Otranto was the first gothic novel written and comparing it to modern novels that are many elements that have changed and many that have stayed the same. The first thing I noticed about Castle of Otranto was the first page which stated that the novel was found and translated from Italian by William Marshal. This addition makes the story seem like it was real therefore making this more terrifying for the readers. The death of the son, Conrad at the beginning along with the 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." foreshadows that there is a good deal of drama and scares ahead for Manfred and his family. Part of the drama comes from Manfred’s desire to marry his deceased son’s fiancé so that a male heir could be had to pass on the titles and land to. This is one of the aspects of gothic literature that I have the most trouble understanding. Why on earth would you want to write about incest? While I understand that it’s shocking it still is an odd theme to keep in the book.  One thing I did like about the book is that Isabella and Matilda are in some ways trying to be independent and doing what they think is right and not just what they are told they need to do. Matilda goes against her father’s order’s and frees Theodore and at the end of the book goes to see him against orders and dies because of this defiance. Isabella is the first one in the novel that we see break from what is expected of her when she runs away from Manfred in a attempt to save herself from a union with him. While both girls are independent, in the end Matilda goes back to obeying orders and even makes apologies for her behavior. The story wraps up a little too abruptly but since it was the first novel written I can understand the lack of good writing mechanics on Walpole’s part. Overall I would say that the book wasn’t bad but had I not had the footnotes to guide me through the language of the time, I would not have enjoyed it.