Analysis of The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

           The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole was my first taste of Gothic literature and definitely was not a good one.  The first scene starts off exciting with the death of Conrad and mass hysteria by the people, but then it dies off and becomes a slow developing story.  I feel like the book needed more substance, without it the book became difficult to follow at times. Some parts failed to capture my attention, I would read a page and forget what I read, then have to repeatedly go back and reread it.
          Another problem I had with the book was that the characters in the story were so naive and irritating, they would believe anything Manfred, the king, told them.  He told the public that Theodore was the one that killed Conrad and they instantly believed him. I hope in the next novel the characters have a much higher mental capacity so that I may have a much more intellectually stimulating experience.  In addition to this I was not a fan of the incest and other taboo actions that went on through the story.  For two old men to agree to let each other marry their daughters is sick.
          On the contrary, I did enjoy the fight between Theodore and Fredric.  I am big into action so any kind of fight is good one, but I am especially into one when the loser is a perverted old man.  Also the ending in which Theodore and Isabella were united after the sad death of Matilda made the story a little more bearable.  Some of the gothic elements in this book also added an interesting side to the book which I am not used to experiencing.  The weird hermit creature, trap doors, candles blowing out, dark rooms, blood dripping from paintings, just to name a few.
           In all, I did not really enjoy the novel as a whole but felt as though it was a good introduction to the genre of Gothic literature. I am looking forward to what other interesting tales are present in the books to come.