Recognition and Misrecognition are everywhere and play a very important role in the development of Castle of Otranto. It is used as a medium to keep the tension ongoing in the story and to make the reader invested and wanting to know what will happen. At first one only thinks that these are coincidences, but later on, one sees that this has been done on purpose and is very important in the development of the story.
The first recognition that occurs in the story, is that of the friar Jerome when he recognizes that the stranger Theodore is his long lost son. Letting the reader know that Jerome is actually of noble blood and is the Count of Falconara (Walpole 48). This might seem as a sort of Deus Ex Machina, where the knowledge that Theodore is his son saves his life out of nowhere. Also this makes the reader question the “filial affection”, shown in the story. They just met as a father and child, yet now they have a commitment to help…show more content… Who was posing as the principal Knight at the castle, to gain information about his daughter. Likewise, another misrecognition is that the Marquis thought that Theodore “was stationed by that Prince to secrete her” (Walpole 66). As a result of this they both fought, not knowing that both wanted to protect Isabella. The fight ends with the Marquis wounded and losing too much blood. After this both recognize that they were mistaken; the knight that Theodore had wounded was actually Isabella’s father and likewise the knight was not keeping her secret but protecting her. After this discovery the Marquis makes Theodore promise to protect Isabella, putting him at odds with what he had promised Mathilda. This letting the reader believe that later on this will cause some problems, as was evidenced when both Isabella and Mathilda become jealous of the other, although