A Castle of Consumption: The Horrors of Feudal Persistence and Capitalist Desire in Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto

Abstract

This paper examines how Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto reflects anxieties of the late eighteenth century in which inherited feudal authority was displaced by the emerging logic of modern capitalism and material consumption. Drawing on the consumer culture theories of Neil McKendrick and Bill Brown, alongside Tom Duggett's insights on Gothic transitions, this work argues that Manfred treats feudal power not as a fixed birthright, but as a commodity to be acquired, expanded, and defended through material manipulation. Driven by an obsessive urge to legitimize his rule and outpace supernatural prophecy, Manfred turns the castle into a living extension of his identity, fetishizes and weaponizes its artifacts for means of authority, and reduces women, namely Hippolita and Isabella, to replaceable, transactional resources. Ultimately, Manfred's frantic attempts to preserve his lineage through consumerist impulses end up hollowing out the very feudal structures he seeks to protect. This depiction of Gothic monstrosity in Walpole's novel exposes the inherent instability of aristocratic rank when reshaped by market and consumer logic.