El castell d'Òtranto

The main character in The Castle of Otranto is the castle itself, omnipresent throughout the play. In it and in a nearby church the whole intrigue takes place, starring the usurper of the principality, Manfred, so that a prophecy that predicts that he will be dispossessed of the castle and his lineage will be punished is not fulfilled. This argument supposes the defense of a conception of the world that refuses to die with the arrival of the Enlightenment. This medieval society of territories dominated by kings or princes who dispose of servants and vassals at their will had actually died out a few centuries ago. But the ideology that supports it wants to stay alive to perpetuate an untenable situation in which the kings of the 18th century and the nobility that supports them (we must not forget that Walpole was a count) control power and divide up the land.