Similarities Between The Duchess Of Malfi And The Castle Of Otranto

The Castle of Otranto was written in 1764, by Horace Walpole. This novel is a Gothic novel, and I will be writing an essay about this novel to show, and explain how Gothic it is. I will be picking a specific character to explain and compare to another book to show how both are Gothic, but in their own way. This essay will seek and unfold the differences of Manfred in Otranto, and General Tilney in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. When Northanger Abbey was written is

he begins to realize he is not worthy to be a god or have everlasting

A woman in medieval times was not considered a person, but property. A woman would be forced to wear layers of drab clothing, the style determining their social class ranking. A woman of wealth would wear decadent gowns and women in poverty would wear plain spun dresses. Their goal in life was to find a husband, to give in to his whims and be the epitome of submission. Sometimes, peasant girls would be forced to take up a trade prior to marriage. After the marriage, she was forced to give up this trade, the skill she possessed, and either maintain the lifestyle as a housewife, or help her husband with his trade. In regards to whom a woman married, there was little to no choice in the matter. Often, girls were married to strange men, men they

world, yet, once he ascends to the throne, he is so overcome by guilt and fear that he is

Usually, falling in love is what leads a person to marriage, but in this era that was not the case. Most weddings were regulated by the parents so that both families would benefit (“Elizabethan Marriages and Weddings” 1). In other words, a daughter of a landowner would most likely marry a man

His attempt to seize the throne leads to the loss of his sanity. Before he is about

In the book The Castle of Otranto the people of the castle are surrounded by unexplainable events. These events are in most cases damaging to one’s own mind. Those who are seen as great and loving are turn in to violent and unpredictable individuals. Those who were affected include the highest level of nobility, down as far as to the simple servant. While denial is shown by them there is no doubt that they have changed, and only in disastrous ways. Weather the person has good intentions or not they are changed and their intention becomes what they do. A corrupt power which cannot be stopped. People may try to help and form the person to their former self but in The Castle of Otranto this is not the case. When people react to unexplained

Modern authors have unanimously realized that the consummation of courtly love would mean adultery. The contemporaries did not present it in that light, but rather claimed an inherent right of the lover to his lady's attention. If marriages, for economic and political reasons, were arranged by relatives or feudal overlords, it is a mere construction of some older historians that, for that reason, the contemporaries permitted extra-marital free love and developed "a gigantic system of bigamy in which every lady was expected to have both a husband and a paramour. "Although in men an excess of love or

The stories show that marriage and love is not regarded highly, Equitan steamrolls through his knight’s trust by taking his wife and scheming to kill him. Love is presented as the desire for someone because of their looks. In the tale of Bisclavret, his wife’s love and marriage is secondary to is thinking that it is weird that her husband turns into a wolf. She does not really love him or care for their marriage. She then uses a knight of her husband’s to scheme to kill him by taking his clothes. This shows how easy it was in that time for people to find others who desire them and are willing to turn on the people their king.

It came about because society said that marriage was not for love, but for social status and to strengthen the bond between two families. The Catholic church also said that passion in love was sinful and forbidden, and therefore, if someone felt passion for a partner, they could not be with that person. Love was supposed to be dutiful and economical, not something that was wonderful and happy. This is why courtly love was formed outside of marriage and stayed there; it was adulterous, serving only to the other person, and had no purpose other than to be emotionally fulfilling (Delahoyde).

During 1500’s, marriage was arranged between two people and love was of a rare occurrence. In William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing, two sworn rivals fall for each other when they hear the other harbors romantic feelings for them. Along with these lies and deceit spread around them that will forever change their lives. Through Claudio’s attitude toward Hero after being manipulated into believing she is cheating, and Benedick’s attitude after he discovers Beatrice has romantic feelings for him, Shakespeare suggests that true love and marriage can go together but do not need to go together.

After he became king he becomes crazy and

One common aspect of gothic literature is diving into a dark side of the world through different categories such as the supernatural. There are many advantages and disadvantages by taking a journey on the evil or dark side. However, the disadvantage’s overcome the advantages by a long shot. One disadvantage is shown in “The Castle of Otranto” and “The Black Cat,” is the conclusion of death. Another disadvantage in taking a dark journey is by sending a character into madness as seen in Quills.

In 1608 Shakespeare wrote Othello, this was in the Elizabethan era. Even though the country had just been ruled by a woman, she still believed that women were the inferior sex and she was chosen by God specially to reign. Women were lower than men in this time. Robert Browning’s my last duchess was wrote around the same time. I am going to explore how women were depicted in both of Othello and My last duchess.

Manfred throws around death threats and searching for the girl mercilessly pushing everyone out of the way. Manfred, on several accounts, attempts to kill Theodore for reasons related to Isabella. Working against Manfred’s cause, Theodore facilitates Isabella’s escape from the castle and Manfred wants to kill him for it. As if Manfred searching for her wasn’t enough she also has her father racing against Manfred to find her thus causing more tension as they compete. Since Isabella ran away and now has all these people out for her, Theodore is protecting her and ends up fighting off a knight and wounding him. That knight, however, was Isabella’s father, so indirectly; Isabella’s actions caused her father to be wounded. Isabella’s simple decision to take the path of self-happiness over the typical submissive woman caused all of these events in the story. Her aversion from her social expectations is what made this story one of excitement and not a story of the typical workings of society. Isabella, following what she believed would make her happy, drove the story into one of more suspense and conflict.