Thursday, January 24, 2013
Madness Unleashed
The Castle of Otranto…. Simple words cannot even begin to describe the kinds of pure madness that are bound within this book. It is defiantly… interesting to say the least. I mean, who wouldn’t find a crazy lord continuously descending into psychological darkness interesting? Oh, and don’t forget the supernatural which kind of just pops up all over the place. No big deal. Sounds like good fun right? I honestly was not really sure what to think once I finished reading this book other than “What the fish did I just read?!”. My mind kind of felt like it exploded from all the drama. I did enjoy reading The Castle of Otranto though, and found myself hooked from page one. I found the way it was written extremely clever and addictive for the reader. It appeared to have the same “powers” like that of a “secret shame” television show: no matter how weird, dramatized, or stupid it is to you/friends, for some reason you feel the need to figure out what happens next. In a way, the plot kind of reminded me of something from an Edgar Allan Poe story too with how twisted it all was. My favorite character ended up being Manfred. I liked the way he responded to the supernatural elements and how completely mad/obsessed he became by the end. He made me laugh and eased any frustrations the book wanted to give me. The Castle of Otranto is not for everyone, but if you go in open minded and get some Advil ready (for upcoming dialogue/drama headaches) I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
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I agree that Manfred's insanity was definitley a guilty pleasure for me. I almost think that his maddness was kind of a way that Walpole spoofs himself. If I were to draw a parallel it would be with William Shakespeare's character Macbeth. Like Macbeth we see a an already troubled character slipping further into insanity I think that Walpole had this in the back of his head when comming up with Manfred.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the madness aspect of this novel was the most interesting element. The way it is written is purposely convoluted and the drama between the characters will definitely give the reader a headache. I started reading it late at night after a long day of work and, after 5 or 6 pages, set it down and thought, "Wait, what did I just read?" I went back and reread it closer and found myself gripping onto it better. It was a doozy to keep up with but I think that was the point. As Manfred descends into madness, so does the reader. This got me to thinking how terrifying of a reading experience this must have been when it was written. It combines the ideas of chivalry, royalty, love, and betrayal that was very popular with the Romantics with new and grotesque elements of the bizarre and the darkness of the human heart that is now known as Gothic.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and immersive read.
This is the most entertaining post I have read so far. I appreciate your love for Manfred, I think it is one of the things that the gothic genre wants us to do, not fear the darkness and preverse, but to embrace it and our natural instinct to be fascinated by it.
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