Question: Comment on
the ending of Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto"
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Answer: “The
Castle of Otranto”, is a great drama written by Horace Walpole. In his story,
he depicted Prince Manfred and his family, which includes his wife, Hippolita,
and his children, Conrad and Matilda. The story begins on a wedding day. But
the wedding does not happen because Conrad is crushed to death by an enormous
helmet moments before the event. Death of Conrad, Manfred makes an enormous
to-do about the guilt.
In such a satiation Manfred plots to divorce his wife, Hippolita, because she has did not bear him a correct heir and decide to marry Isabella himself. When Manfred informs this to Isabella, she is shocked and flees into a passage beneath the castle. There she meets Theodore, newly escaped from the imprisoned. Theodore aids her in escaping to a close-by convent.
They are interrupted as a herald enters, proclaiming that an excellent knight has arrived to rescue Isabella. The wily Manfred invites the mysterious knight. The conversation ends and the search for Isabella recommences. In the interim, Matilda gratis Theodore from his captivity and assists him to arm himself and flee the castle. Theodore finds Isabella in the woods and hides her in a cave, vowing to protect her. The great knight arrives and demands the girl. They engage in battle. The wounded knight says he is Frederic, Isabella’s father.
During this time Matilda has realized she is in love with Theodore and is quite dismayed. And Manfred believes that Isabella is going to be meeting with Theodore for a tryst at the church, so he takes a knife with him. It is actually Matilda who is meeting Theodore, but Manfred does not know this and accidentally kills his daughter.
Shock reverberates through the family and everyone else. Theodore is eventually revealed to be truth prince of Otranto with Matilda dead, and therefore the grieving Manfred is left to repent. He abdicates the principality and retires to religion alongside Hippolita. Theodore becomes a prince and is married to Isabella, for she is that the just one who can truly understand his sorrow.
No doubt, Horace Walpole is a powerful English literature creator of his time. He pens each dialogue perfectly and makes sense of plots.
At this point, Manfred orders the execution of Theodore. As Theodore takes his shirt
out, Jerome distinguishes the mark below his shoulder and identifies him as his
son, lost for years. Jerome pleads for his son’s life, and Manfred proffers to
extra him in a switch over for the discharge of Isabella.
hi ...........
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