While reading The Castle of Otranto, I was reminded of another novel I have read called The Other Boleyn Girl, written by Philippa Gregory. The Other Boleyn Girl is about two sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn, who compete for the love of Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn is the "victor" and she convinces Henry to divorce his wife and Queen, Katherine of Aragon, and to marry her instead. The Castle of Otranto reminds me of The Other Boleyn Girl because Manfred is a lot like Henry VIII.
Both kings ruled as tyrants obsessed with having a male heir to rule their kingdoms after they were gone. When Manfred's son Conrad, dies, Manfred decides to divorce his wife Hippolita and marry Isabella, who was supposed to marry Conrad. Manfred's decision to divorce his wife is exactly like the decision Henry VIII makes. After being married for many years, with only one child, a daughter; Henry VIII decides to divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, convinced that they will have a son. Like Henry VIII, Manfred is convinced that if he marries Isabella they will also have sons. Henry VIII has Anne Boleyn beheaded for false charges because he decides he needs to get rid of her. Anne Boleyn also only had a daughter and Henry wanted to marry someone else and have a son. Henry VIII finally has a son when he is married for a third time however his son dies before he becomes king. The daughter he had with Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, ruled England for many years and is known as one of England's greatest rulers. Like Henry VIII, Manfred also ignored his daughter Matilda. Perhaps if Matilda did not die she and Theodore could have become great rulers. Manfred and Henry VIII are similar in character because both men wouldn't stop for anything until they had male heirs.
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I totally agree! I never thought about The Other Boleyn Girl while reading Castle of Otranto but the books are really so similar. Obviously the Other Boleyn Girl had a lot more character development, but I felt that Manfred and Henry were soo much the same! I especially agree with your point about both men being driven by the need for an heir. Manfred and Henry were both really very greedy in their search for a male heir and also both left their wives for much younger women. Also its interesting how, in my opinion, unlike Catherine of Aragon Hippolyta is. I felt that while Catherine knew her husband was a bit of a tyrant she wasn't afraid of him while Hippolyta did everything she could to make Manfred happy even though he only wanted one thing. Also, on a side note, I found the fact that Manfred wanted to divorce Hippolyta a bit confusing because I was never sure whether the characters were Catholic and thus not allowed to divorce.
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