The Castle of Otranto:Power via Religion, Domesticity, and the State

Sample Close Reading Presentation

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Form: No Quotes, Meaning Drifts

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Diction: Language of Power

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Types of Power: 1) Church/Religion

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Types of Power: 2) Feudal/State

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Types of Power: 3) Family/Domestic

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Manfred’s Speech: Division, Segregation

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Jerome’s Speech: Unification, Healing

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

M’s Result: Consolidate Types of Power in Castle, Expand Personal Authority

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

J’s Result: Wound Manfred, Expand Personal Authority Through His Speech

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)

Takeaway:

Manfred and Father Jerome use different vocabularies with similar aims: to consolidate for themselves as much power and as many types of power as possible: Manfred by locating it in the castle as home and seat of

state; Jerome by dislocating his power from the limited

physical church and relocating it in God speaking through his voice.

Thus, in order to understand shifts in power in this world, it is important to examine not only what a character says, but how/where/when he says it and what it accomplishes.

Discussion Question:

Given that the main combatants for power (Manfred and Jerome) are both men, are women (Hippolita, Isabella, Miranda, Bianca) utterly powerless in this world? What is the “woman’s province” that Manfred refers to, and how might women use this “province” to undermine/overcome/build on the power strategies of Manfred and/or Jerome?

The End!

—Father, interrupted Manfred, I pay due reverence to your holy profession; but I am sovereign here, and will allow no meddling priest to interfere in the affairs of my domestic.  If you have aught to say attend me to my chamber—I do not use to let my wife be acquainted with the secret affairs of my state; they are not within a woman’s province. My Lord, said the holy man, I am no intruder into the secrets of families.  My office is to promote peace, to heal divisions, to preach repentance, and teach mankind to curb their headstrong passions. I forgive your Highness’s uncharitable apostrophe; I know my duty, and am the minister of a mightier prince than Manfred.  Hearken to him who speaks through my organs. Manfred trembled with rage and shame. (48)