Mind Map Gallery The Castle of Otranto

The Castle of Otranto

The Castle of Otranto mind map is fiction, horror-based novel. The story of Manfred, the castle's lord, and his family is told in the Castle of Otranto. On the wedding day of his ailing son Conrad and princess Isabella, the story begins. Conrad, however, is crushed to death by a massive helmet that descends on him from above just before the wedding. The castle portrays evil in the form of sexual deviancy and power corruption in The Castle of Otranto, a story based around a specific castle. Manfred pursues Isabella through the castle's creepy halls and dark tunnels, aiming to rape her. Manfred make a deal about marrying each other's daughters. Frederic backs out after being warned by an apparition of a skeleton. Manfred, suspecting that Isabella is meeting Theodore in a tryst in the church, takes a knife into the church, where Matilda is meeting Theodore. Thinking his own daughter is Isabella, he stabs her. Theodore is then revealed to be the true prince of Otranto as Matilda dies, leaving Manfred to repent. A giant ghostly form appears, declares the prophecy fulfilled and shatters the castle walls. Manfred abdicates the principality and retires to the religion along with the Hippolita. Theodore becomes the prince of the remains of the castle and is married to Isabella.

Edited at 2022-08-22 09:58:36

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The Castle of Otranto

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Outline

The Castle of Otranto

Overview

Set in a dark medieval time, The Castle of Otranto follows Manfred and his family's journey to continue lordship over a castle. The novel is considered the first Gothic novel, a genre that includes such authors as Edgar Allan Poe. Part realistic and part fantastical, the novel explores the complications between family and power.

Main Characters

Hippolita

Tragic mother and wife; manipulated by Manfred

Manfred

Tyrannical lord of the Castle of Otranto; commits terrible acts to keep his power

Matilda

Young lady of Otranto; loves Theodore but is murdered by Manfred

Conrad

Young lord of Otranto; crushed to death by a helmet

Isabella

Young woman pursued by Manfred after Conrad's death

Theodore

Rightful heir to the Castle of Otranto; protects Isabella from Manfred

Themes

Sterility

Hippolita's inability to bear more children spurs Manfred to act in ways that ultimately destroy himself and his legacy.

Gothic Morality

The intertwining of religious views of the Middle Ages and chivalric conventions create a Gothic morality in The Castle of Otranto. The story devices that result became Gothic novel standards.

Magic vs. Providence

Supernatural events push the narrative to its bloody conclusion, a "sacred vengeance" that rights the crimes Manfred's ancestors committed.

Numbering

1529

Year someone else supposedly wrote The Castle of Otranto—according to a false claim by Walpole

1791

Year Walpole became the 4th Earl of Orford

Years it took Walpole to build his own Gothic castle called Strawberry Hill in Twickenham, West London

Heirs Walpole had, leading to the end of the earldom of Orford

Author

HORACE WALPOLE 1717-97

A politician, academic, castle architect, and writer, Walpole forever influenced popular culture by establishing the Gothic genre. He was born in London to a powerful political family. The death of Walpole's mother when he was 20 years old fueled the darkness of much of his writing.