The Castle of Otranto

In Walpole’s novella, noble bloodlines and noble behavior receive divine favor and sanction. Conversely, the supernatural elements in Otranto do their best to subvert the attempts of any usurper—even inadvertent ones—from obtaining or holding onto power. This theme befits Walpole project of reinventing the medieval chivalric romance for the 18th century—these earlier narratives only featured royal or aristocratic characters, and often dealt with matters of succession and lineage.

The novella opens as Manfred, the current Prince of Otranto, has arranged for his son Conrad to marry the princess Isabella, which will ensure that Manfred’s family continues inheriting the rights to Otranto. However, Manfred is actually the son of a usurper who is knowingly trying to maintain his illegitimate claim on the throne. This effort is doomed: Conrad is suddenly crushed to death by the giant helmet of Alfonso the Good, sire of the rightful dynasty. Manfred knows that this is divine judgment that doesn’t spare Conrad despite the young man’s ignorance of how his family came to rule Otranto: “he was a sickly, puny child, and Heaven has perhaps taken him away, that I might not trust the honours of my house on so frail a foundation” (13).