Class, Comedy, and Tragedy Theme Analysis

In the second preface to The Castle of Otranto, Walpole acknowledges his authorship of the work and defends his use of both comedy and tragedy, elements that are tied to the story’s two classes of people. Modeling his mixture of comedy and tragedy on that of Shakespeare’s plays, the lower class characters are associated with comedy and the upper class characters with tragedy.

The peasants, such as Bianca and Diego, are often portrayed as naïve, inarticulate, morally inferior, and prone to superstition, while the nobles, such as Hippolita and Frederic, are portrayed as dignified, articulate, intelligent, moral, and level-headed. One example of this behavioral distinction occurs when Manfred charges Theodore with treason and accuses him of witchcraft, after Theodore notices a similarity between the giant helmet that kills Conrad and the helmet formerly on Alfonso’s statue. While Manfred’s friends (i.e. the nobles) urge him against such an unfounded punishment, the peasants form a mob and wholeheartedly cheer his accusations, believing that Manfred’s decision is just.

The roles and behaviors of Theodore and Manfred suggest a blood distinction between the nobility and the peasantry. Though Theodore is originally presented as a peasant, his remarkable bravery, articulation, and conviction to do good distinguish him as a noble, a fact that is later confirmed when Jerome reveals his true parentage. Similarly, though Manfred is originally presented as a noble, his rage, evil machinations, and frequently inarticulate speech betray his claim to nobility, in particular his claim that he is the rightful ruler of Otranto (and in fact, of course, Manfred is the grandson of a non-noble man who rose to the throne only through murder and treachery).

Ironically, the peasants often stumble upon truths often dismissed by the novel’s noblemen and noblewomen. For example, when Bianca gossips to Matilda about the young peasant Theodore, she guesses (correctly) that he is a prince in disguise, while Matilda scorns the silliness of Bianca’s imagination. Similarly, all the servants believe (correctly) that Manfred’s desire to see Conrad married is motivated by his fear of a prophecy, while the nobles believe he is anxious for his son’s health. However, it is worth remembering Walpole’s, or rather “William Marshal’s” sly suggestion that the story was written by an “artful” priest looking to “confirm the populace in their ancient errors and superstitions.” Though the fictional translator’s commentary on the ideological-motivation of the fictional author Muralto might undermine a worldview of class distinctions, Walpole’s second preface also reinforces this class distinction, as he perhaps exploits the peasants’ comic quality to make the nobles’ storylines and characters all the more attractive and engaging.