1764: Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto (Broadview)
• Manfred — the lord of the Castle of Otranto. He is the father of Conrad and Matilda, and the
husband of Hippolita. After his son is killed by the falling helmet, he becomes obsessed with the
idea of ending his marriage with Hippolita in pursuit of the much younger Isabella, who was
supposed to marry his son. Manfred serves as the prime antagonist of the novel; he is the
dictatorial ruler and father that drives the plot forward in a depiction of deranged cruelty visited
upon his children.
• Hippolita — the wife of Manfred and the mother of Conrad and Matilda. After having lost her
son, she is left with just Matilda to combat the tyrannical turn of mind that her husband displays.
Manfred intends to divorce her due to her sterility and on the grounds that their marriage is in
fact false because they are actually related. Faced with the threat of divorce, Hippolita is
mournful yet submissive to the wills of her husband. She acts as a sort of enabler to her
husband, putting aside her morals and happiness so that her husband can get what he wants.
• Conrad — the fifteen-year-old son of Manfred and Hippolita and the younger brother of
Matilda. In the first pages of the novel, he is crushed by a giant helmet on his way to his wedding
• Matilda — Matilda is the daughter of Hippolita and the oppressive Manfred. She falls in love
with Theodore, much to her chagrin since it is a love unsanctioned by her parents. Upon the
appearance of Frederic, things become even more complicated as Frederic lusts after Matilda.
She serves as the forbidden woman, a facet of Gothic literature. Frederic and Manfred make
plans to swap their daughters in marriage, crushing Matilda's hope of being with Theodore. At
the end of the novel, she is mistakenly stabbed by her father.
• Isabella — the daughter of Frederic and the fiancée of Conrad (at the beginning of the
novel). After the death of Conrad, she makes it clear that, although she did not love Conrad, she
would have far preferred being betrothed to him rather than his father, who pursues her
throughout the novel. Isabella and Matilda have a brief argument concerning the fact they both
have feelings for Theodore. After the death of Matilda, Theodore settles for Isabella and the two
become the lord and lady of the castle.
• Theodore — at the beginning of the novel, Theodore appears to be a mere minor character,
whose role is purely to point out the significance of the helmet as a link to the fulfilment of the
prophecy. However, he emerges as a main character after Manfred orders him to be imprisoned
within the helmet for his insolence and he escapes, only to help Isabella escape from the castle
through a trapdoor. He is revealed later in the novel to be the lost son of Friar Jerome. Theodore
proceeds to protect Isabella from the wanton lust of Manfred. He captures the hearts of both
Isabella and Matilda, but settles for Isabella after Matilda's death. He also later goes on to rule
the Castle of Otranto.
• Friar Jerome — the friar at the monastery near the Castle of Otranto. Manfred attempts to
manipulate him into both supporting his plan to divorce his w