Realistic Concern And Romantic Feelings: A Case Study Of The Castle Of Otranto

The Castle of Otranto, though not very long, is filled with ghost, grotesque, monstrosity, superstition in the gloomy castle, the dark chamber and the labyrinthine tunnel and so forth. These supernatural descriptions, combined with the author's indulgent depictions of extreme human feelings, namely passion, horror, impulsion and desire, wrap the whole narration in an unbelievable yet fascinating atmosphere. These descriptions have been regarded as subversion and a sharp break from the realistic eighteenth-century literary circles, which result in severe criticism by especially those rationalists at the same time. However, the author of this thesis discovers that these descriptions are not merely meant to arouse the readers'sense of awe or to cause mental terror in them, a more outstanding function of them, nevertheless, is that there contain moral connotations in those seemingly ridiculous descriptions. To a certain extent these moral connotations echo with the reason-dominant eighteenth century. According to the religious doctrines of Christianity in the eighteenth century, devil worship equals evil. Those who make a deal with the devil in order to pursue exceeding desires and ambitions have long been a target for criticism. Nevertheless, given the ultimate restoration of belief, morality, justice and Christian righteousness, Walpole's representations of the gothic villains'devotion into devil worship, surprisingly, seem to have paved the way for firmer strongholds against evils. The point here is that, Walpole, no less sensitive to evils and hideousness than those rationalists, tends to reveal social problems through the exposure of the dark side of the society, and to choose subjects which can easily resonate with the readers so as to instruct by touching the bottom of their hearts. Although the factuality and credibility of the whole narration might be weakened by those depictions, the moral-directing functions of Otranto should by no means be neglected. Unfortunately, few efforts have been made in this respect yet. Therefore, this thesis firstly probes into the realistic characteristics of Otranto to stress the very apparent succession of the gothic novel to the realistic eighteenth-century literary trend. And by using for reference the literary exercises of former literature masters, those of William Shakespeare's in particular, the author further vindicates Walpole's didactic and realistic concern in Otranto. The author also adopts Thomas Rymer's Theory of Poetic Justice in this thesis to justify Walpole's sense of morality and righteousness.During the last twenty to thirty years of the eighteenth century, the rules of order, restraint, balance and decorum that have characterized the well-structured enlightened world no longer suffice in solving the problems of perplexity, confrontations and agonies of modern era. In the context of such an uncertain era, the gothic novel captivates and fascinates the readers probably because of its reference to the faraway medieval past and the frenzied and naive responses to the unknown beings. To a certain degree, the controversies and mysteries of the gothic novel precisely echo with the uncertainty of this era and foreshadow the arrival of the Romantic period. In the third chapter, the author elaborates on Walpole's explorations of human feelings and traces in The Castle of Otranto the most typical manifestation of Romantic ideology: the full play of imagination. .Through the above pavement, the author explores the perfect balance Walpole has achieved between realistic concern and romantic feelings in Otranto in the final chapter.