Castle of Otranto

From a female perspective women had no rights and no choice during this time period. They were told what to do, and when to do it. There marriages were ordered by their fathers, and had not input on their feeling toward the choice. I believe that is normal from this time period, but Walpole did not seem fond of it. He showed how the women really felt and tried to rebel against the sexist ways. As when Matilda set Theodore free, or Isabella running from Manfred to avoid marrying him.

Chivalry seems to be very important during this time period. As Theodore helped Isabella escape several times and then mistakenly injured her father. She began to fall for him through his heroic gestures. Chivalry was even shown somewhat through Matilda as she set Theodore free and gave him a suit of armor. Feelings and emotions were greatly expressed as Hippolita seemed very sensitive and had a passion for all. Manfred only carried emotion for his son, but truly was only after carrying out his bloodline.

I think Walpole was not very fond of unquestioned allegiance of King and country. He wanted to be able to voice his own opinions and ideas and did so through his writings. I suspect that during the 18Th century freedom of speech or opinions were strongly opposed. He did not think it should be whatever the King says goes, I believe he thought everyone should have a voice. He depicted this in the Friar, Isabella, and Matilda's opposing wishes to Manfred's.

I see several morals in the tale. First is Karma. As we all know this means what goes around comes around. I saw this in the way Manfred treated everyone especially Theodore. In the end he lost a son and a daughter and led to the discovery that Theodore was a descendant of Alfonso. The haunting tried to warn Manfred several times, but he ignored them. Which could be another moral within itself. Follow rules and warnings to help avoid danger and chaos.

I think the conclusion shows marriage was highly recognized as the norm back then. If the one who you wish to marry passes you must find a replacement briefly. It was an important social norm and probably displayed some sort of status and the type of person you are.

I do not know much about Shakespeare, but from what the preface said and watching a little bit of Hamlet yesterday it represented it a bit. It had the ghostly warning and people slain for power and the marriages.

Overall I think this was a good story. It had me constantly wondering how it was going to end. If Isabella would end up marrying Manfred, and if her father was going to return to save her. It also had me wondering who Theodore was from his first appearance. You could conclude that he had some importance from the the way he was brought into the story. When Manfred did not kill him near the beginning, I knew he carried a bigger role somewhere down the line.