"The Castle Of Otranto"

The Castle Of Otranto is an interesting read. The story is of a new Genre as it defines the new literary style of Goth. The author published it with a claim of finding a manuscript with a different name. This was intentional as he wanted it to have the effect of suspense and awe. The literary elements may appear crude in some ways but the story has all the literary elements. The story is filled with mystery, prophecy, secret pathway, giant statues, swords and supernatural which we discover that will set the benchmark for future Gothic literature.
The exposition of the story begins with a scene of a marriage where the descriptions of the characters are unfolded. The scene takes place in a castle setting which depicts the life of the upper class. As the story unfolds there is a twist. The marriage of the young sickly prince, Conrad with Isabella is interrupted by an accident which kills the groom. There is a mystery being unfolded as people discover what really killed him. The giant helmet of Alfonso, the true ruler of Otranto falls onto Conrad killing him instantly. There is a little that is known how that happened but people relate this to a prophecy that tells them that the ruler of Otranto and the castle, Manfred did not gain the title by inheritance and the illegitimate rule would end when the true ruler arrives. So the story is about keeping the true heir away from power by submission or marriage.
After the death of Conrad, Manfred with his incestuous desires tries to submit Isabella for marriage. This moment is the point where everything becomes chaotic. The secret pathway is revealed and amongst the darkness Isabella finds an unselfish helping hand that helps her escape from the evil intentions of Manfred. The descriptions of the castle appear very strange as the runaway finds herself passing through dark corridors of the castle. The intensity of the actions in the story fluctuates as Isabella settles into the sacred shrine where she thinks she is safe from her fears. This is the point where there is a conflict between the characters. Manfred wants Isabella but he is powerless as he cannot force her as she is safe in the holy sanctuary. Jerome the pastor would not approve this either. Jerome wants to know if Hippolita, Manfred's wife approves of the unholy matrimony and he cannot support Manfred's cause until she approves. So the characters have conflict with their ideas. This is an example of external conflict. Internal conflict arise when Matilda (Manfred’s daughter) and Isabella both fall for Theodore (the peasant arrested and later revealed to be the true heir and descendent of Alfonso).
There are different characters in this story. The Antagonist Manfred is the bad guy who has all the bad motifs including incest (Isabella being like his daughter by marriage with Conrad). The Protagonist Theodore is disguised by his peasant appearance in the story of upper class but soon we find him as a prince who is a direct descendent of Alfonso. He changes a lot through the story as we discover him as a peasant, then Jerome’s son and a great knight and descendent of Alfonso. He is also a Dynamic character. The other Dynamic character is Jerome who loves his son and is willing to compromise his piety to keep him away from the hands of Manfred. Hippolita is a static character as she is so much faithful to Manfred that she is willing to accept the sinful marriage of Manfred. She does not change herself very much in the story.
The story is a story of Irony. As the story is unfolded it becomes clear that the person who Manfred hates the most his daughter loves him, and in the end when Manfred tries to kill Theodore he kills his own daughter. This is also called the irony of situation. This is the climax of the story. From here the falling actions takes place. This includes the change in Manfred as he finds his daughter on a death bed. His evil intentions are gone and he doesn’t have the desire to rule anymore. Everyone is unhappy and things start to slow down. The resolution would be the possible marriage of Isabella to Theodore despite Theodore loved the dying Matilda. This would not take too long as we find out in these stories people get over and fall in love easily. The denouement of the story is making Theodore the prince of Otranto while Manfred and Hippolita voluntary exile to a holy sanctuary for the sin Manfred committed. However I don’t understand why Hippolita has to suffer because of this. May be thatwas how the society would have perceived the position of women in society in those times.