Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto

 

    The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole was published in 1764 and is commonly considered the first novel of the Gothic genre. The story is set in Italy, following the struggle for power over the Castle of Otranto. The castle is ruled by the tyrannical Manfred, who is a prince of the family that usurped Otranto’s original ruler Alfonso the Good. 

Manfred stumbles upon a prophecy that foretells Otranto’s transfer of ownership and becomes obsessive in his desire to retain control. Manfred’s own wife is infertile, and hoping for male heirs he arranges the marriage between his son, Conrad, and the daughter of a distant Marquis, Isabella. On the day of the marriage, a giant helmet suddenly falls from the sky and smushes Conrad, thwarting Manfred’s plans. Angry, but still determined to produce male heirs, Manfred corners Isabella, planning to assault her. Just in time, they are both startled by the apparition of Manfred’s ancestor who emerges from its portrait. The ghost leads Manfred down into a hidden crypt, and he is too caught up in the strangeness of the situation to pursue Isabella any further. 

In just the first couple of chapters, readers are already introduced to a few central themes of subsequent Gothic literature; most noticeably the gendered violence within strict patriarchal power structures. The reader is also immersed in the usual Gothic structure of a haunted castle, with tangible manifestations of the supernatural seen in talking paintings, giant pieces of armor, and ghosts. Similarly to the appearance of the portrait’s ghost, there are so many strange and sudden events that happen within the novel that the reader, and I think the characters themselves, fall into this heavy state of confusion. This confusion, as well as the supernatural elements within the story, are eventually just accepted as inevitable and “normal”. As the story progresses, the characters start to display a sort of reverence towards the different ghosts, spirits, and prophecies because they come to realize that, despite their own desires, their fates are tied to the supernatural. 

It’s interesting to observe the themes of housing we’ve explored in class through a Gothic lens, where haunting and supernatural elements are so intrinsically connected with both the plot and the physical structure of the castle. Usually, we see castles as very strong, immovable structures that symbolize power, so it’s strange to see how the Castle of Otranto is very fluid–its layout is never as simple as it seems. Its dimensions are exaggerated at times but understated at others. As the reader, you don’t ever feel like you have a good understanding of the castle’s proportions. The castle’s physical instability extends to the characters that reside within it, and the character’s perception of reality is always being challenged and renegotiated.