Castle of Otranto

The female characters in the book didn't have very many options, the men in their lives chose who they were going to marry and what they were going to do with their lives. Walpole also made women out to be very angelic, he called them saintly and that they would leave the castle and spend the rest of their lives in the convent. It seems as though Walpole thought of women as a possession than a human being because men could do whatever they wanted to the women. Manfred was a tyrant to everybody around and yet Hippolita and Matilda didn't seem to notice and had such a respect for him. I don't really think the book promotes chilvalry very well in Manfred he doesn't seem to really meet the qualifications because he is so disrespectful and even wants to commit incest with Isabella. There are a lot of circumstances where the women show a romantic side like fainting on the drop of a hat and just being smitten with Theodore after just meeting him. I think Walpole definitely believed in unquestioned alliance between king and country/ kid. Manfred didn't take no for an answer whether it be the friar or his kids. Even after stabbing Matilda she immediately forgave him and didn't even bat an eye at Manfred. His own wife didn't seem moved by Manfred's suggestion of divorce. I think the moral theme might be veracity it was mentioned many times and it seemed that in the conclusion Theodore became prince because his family was honest and didn't fake a will to come into power.