![]() ![]() Manfred's ultimate display of tyranny occurs when he mistakenly stabs his daughter Matilda to death. The teenage son of Manfred and Hippolita, Conrad is betrothed to Isabella, but on the way to his wedding he is crushed to death by a symbol of the curse of the Otranto castle: a supernaturally-charged falling helmet. She is rescued by Theodore, the soon-to-be revealed legitimate heir of Otranto, and marries him during the novel's resolution. She narrowly escapes Manfred's grasp, preventing a nearly incestuous and non-consensual marriage from taking place. ![]() Threatened by kidnapping, rape, and an overall unwanted marriage, she tries to escape from the castle after the death of her intended husband, Conrad. Isabella, lovely, virtuous, and self-assured, is this novel's damsel in distress. The terror that ensues following his chase of Isabella is grotesque and morally reprehensible, but it is also the driving force behind the novel's suspenseful plot. His passion obscures his ability to reason, and he becomes so obsessed with the death of his son that he feels he must divorce his wife and marry his deceased son's intended bride. ![]() The tyranny he inflicts upon his family and those visiting his castle make him a prime example of a Gothic villain. As The Castle of Otranto's antagonist, Manfred the tyrannical husband of Hippolita and the obsessive father of Matilda and Conrad. ![]() A lord? A familial dictator? Manfred is both. ![]()
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