Horace Walpole’s The
Castle of Otranto highlighted many fears of 17th Century
England. These fears were so prevalent in this time period, and yet the ways to
deal with them were not spoke of. That was what made The Castle of Otranto so popular and a basis for gothic works to
come. Walpole used these fears to frighten his readers and offered solutions to them. Darkness
is profound throughout the novel. Walpole’s solution to this fear was to stay
in the light, or bring one with you. The best example of this is when Isabella
is running from Manfred and her candle is blown out. The reason Isabella is
fleeing from the castle is because Manfred is trying to rape her and force her
to marry him. This fear was one that was definitely not spoken of during this
time because it was considered the woman’s fault if these actions occurred to
her and her reputation would be ruined. Speaking of marriage, marrying out of
caste was a fear prevalent in the novel. The whole story line was based upon
that Alfonso’s proper heir did not inhabit the castle. This is because he
married out of caste and had to keep it hidden. This novel is showing its
audience the consequences they could face if marrying out of caste, and keeping
inheritance hidden. Also, keeping identities hidden was a fear for this time.
This is brought to light with Theodore, who started out as just a peasant, or
Fredric who ended up being Isabella’s father. Walpole is basically saying,
check who people are before you invite them into your life, let alone your
home.
These were
legitimate fears for that time period. People were drawn to The Castle of Otranto just like today
people are attracted to movies that portray fears in our society. Religion is
something that our society fears today. Now more than ever, people have so many
questions and differences concerning religion. These differences have a
tendency to separate us from those that believe differently. Movies like Red State attract audiences today
because this is a fear we are currently dealing with.
1 comment:
Andrea-
You made a really great point when you said, “This fear was one that was definitely not spoken of during this time because it was considered the woman’s fault if these actions occurred to her and her reputation would be ruined.” I think this was a very important statement because most people don’t believe this anymore and it is hard to think that at one point, they did. I also liked how you elaborated about the caste system. It was a very prevalent fear in this time period because everyone always wanted to be related to the big guy in town. I also really liked when you said “people are attracted to movies that portray fears in our society.” That is a very true statement. Great entry!
-Abbie Burton
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