Role of Women in Castle of Otranto

1. Take a feminist point of view and blog your ideas about the role of women in the text's setting. What options do women have? Are these options reasonable considering the time period? What concerns do characters have for women's feelings? Speculate as to Walpole's views about women.

In The Castle of Otranto, Walpole depicts the women in the story as weak, pious, and eager for the approval of men. This follows the way women were expected to be during that time period. However, I feel that Walpole exaggerates these ideals. For example," Hippolita needed little persuasions to bend her to his pleasure (pg 89)." Matilda forgives her father for murdering her. She even takes some of the blame when she says that she had promised her mother not to see Theodore any more and that it must be her punishment. Women are used as bargaining chips, with no thought to what they might want leaving them no options other than what their father or husband demands of them. Manfred's desire to divorce a loving wife in order to marry Isabella so that she might give him a son. And later Manfred offers Matilda to Frederic so that his family will still have rights to Otranto. The only time women are shown with some independence is when Isabella is running away, or when Matilda helps Theodore escape, otherwise they are fainting or begging for forgiveness from the men. Jerome and Theodore are the only men with concern for the women's wellbeing and desires. I feel that Walpole would share the same behaivor towards women as Theodore does, because he depicts Manfred as a tyrant and ridiculous. I think his exaggeration of the characteristics of women mocks the time period.