He first decides to divorce her on the grounds that they are related so he can attempt to marry Isabella, a daughter-figure. Manfred cannot seem to avoid incest, regardless of whether or not he remains married to Hippolita. Incest as SinĪs a Gothic villain, Manfred's choice of sin is incest, creating a conflation of erotic, romantic, and familial love that inhibits his ability to reason. Manfred abandons Christian virtues in favor of Gothic passion - a passion so intense that it obscures his ability to reason, resulting in his seeking an incestuous affair and the dissolution of his legitimate marriage. Self-control, the Christian virtue that was often discussed in other literature of the period, is something that he utterly lacks. Manfred defines the Gothic villain perfectly: he is a powerful male figure who allows his sinful passions and evil nature to obscure the reason and goodness he possesses. The characterization of Manfred in particular is intriguing in that he is portrayed not only as the novel's antagonist, but also as a man who succumbs to villainous behavior because of his own lack of self-control. As a Gothic text, The Castle of Otranto provides various tropes through which terror and disgust are expounded upon.
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