The Castle of Otranto

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1764

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-4

Chapter 5

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Statue of Alfonso

The statue of Alfonso the Good in the Church of St. Nicholas symbolizes Otranto’s noble past and rightful ownership. Alfonso, the heroic past ruler of Otranto, was poisoned by his chamberlain Ricardo, who usurped the throne and eventually passed it to his grandson Manfred, Otranto’s current illegitimate ruler. During the course of the narrative, the statue sheds various pieces of armor, which magically manifest at various points in the castle—supernatural events that suggest that the castle is haunted by Ricardo’s past misdeeds. As pieces of the statue kill Manfred’s son, assist the true heir Theodore, and prevent Manfred from marrying a new wife who could bear heirs, the spirit of Alfonso cleanses Otranto of Manfred’s corrupt rule.

The statue enacts the prophecy that rulers who outgrow the castle will be ousted—a prediction of doom that Manfred fears but finds hard to interpret. However, Hippolita instructs Matilda on several occasions to honor and worship the statue of Alfonso—a prescient suggestion that implies that Hippolita remembers who is the rightful heir.

Darkness/Dimly Lit Rooms

Darkness or dim light serves as a backdrop for supernatural events, symbolizes the hidden nature of family secrets, and embodies the oppressive quality of Manfred’s rule. The castle is a maze of dark passageways; while these tunnels promise the hope of escape, the journey through them is terrifying because it must be conducted without light. When Isabella finds herself in one such passage as she is fleeing Manfred, a howling wind blows out her candle. Though she eventually finds her way, the absence of light can also mislead: As Manfred chases Isabella, a sudden beam of moonlight in the pitch blackness reflects off a suit of armor and a portrait of his grandfather, distracting Manfred from his quarry.

Dim lighting often creates cases of mistaken identity, giving the novella’s plot the meandering and coincidence-filled quality of medieval chivalric romance. When Isabella is lost in the tunnels, she is aided by a stranger she believes to be the ghost of her fiancé Conrad, but later revealed as the peasant Theodore. Similarly, the dim interior of the church leads Manfred to mistake Matilda for Isabella, causing him to murder his daughter. In both cases, the lack of lighting is a physical reflection of the characters’ psychological state—frightened and confused, they rely on preconceived notions rather than accepting reality.

Dreams

Dreams are an important motif in Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, which was itself based on Walpole’s dream about his own Gothic castle, Strawberry Hill House.

Several literal dreams propel the plot, reveal information that characters otherwise could not have access to, and expose psychological states. Manfred relied on dreams to secure his illegitimate hold on Otranto after his grandfather Ricardo poisoned Alfonso and claimed the throne: St. Nicholas came to Manfred in a dream “and promised that Ricardo’s posterity should reign in Otranto until the rightful owner should be grown too large to inhabit the castle, and as long as issue male from Ricardo’s loins should remain to enjoy it” (113). This dream prophecy dictates most of Manfred’s actions, including his promise to build a church and several convents to St. Nicholas and his desperate attempts to secure a male heir. Later, the imprisoned Frederic has a dream foretelling Isabella’s misadventures: “he had dreamed that his daughter, of whom he had learned no news since his captivity, was detained in a castle, where she was in danger” (76). This prompts Frederic to pursue Alfonso’s magical sword and to rescue Isabella while eliminating the usurper Manfred.

More figuratively, the novella’s whole world seems very dreamlike and unreal. The supernatural elements are almost random and have the irrational quality of dream logic—for instance, it is unclear why Alfonso interacts with the castle through his statue, while Manfred’s grandfather appears as a ghostly form of his portrait. The residents of Otranto register this nightmarish sensation: When Manfred observes the moving portrait he wonders, “Do I dream? […] or are the devils themselves in league against me?” (15).

The Castle of Otranto

Symbols & Motifs

The Statue of Alfonso

Darkness/Dimly Lit Rooms

Dreams

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