The Castle of Otranto

by

Horace Walpole

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St. Nicholas Character Analysis

The saint to whom Otranto’s church is dedicated and to whom all of Otranto pray. After Ricardo was shipwrecked and prayed to St. Nicholas for his survival in return for a church and two convents, St. Nicholas agreed, provided that Nicholas’s family’s reign end when the rightful ruler grew too large for the castle and when Ricardo no longer had any male heirs. St. Nicholas also shows the hermit where to find the giant sword and tells him to reveal the secret only on his deathbed.
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St. Nicholas Character Timeline in The Castle of Otranto

The timeline below shows where the character St. Nicholas appears in The Castle of Otranto. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Lineage and Leadership Theme Icon
Class, Comedy, and Tragedy Theme Icon
...similarity to the helmet on the statue of Alfonso the Good in the church of St. Nicholas , Manfred flies into a rage, grabs the peasant, accuses him of treason, and threatens... (full context)
Humor, the Gothic, and the Supernatural Theme Icon
...passage leading away from the castle, she decides to seek sanctuary at the church of St. Nicholas . Her journey to the secret passage is haunted by an eerie silence, howling winds,... (full context)
Chapter 2
The Divine vs. The Mundane Theme Icon
Gender and Marriage Theme Icon
...that moment, a servant interrupts them with the news that Isabella has sought sanctuary at St. Nicholas ’s church and that Father Jerome of the church is now informing Manfred, who is... (full context)
Chapter 4
Humor, the Gothic, and the Supernatural Theme Icon
The Divine vs. The Mundane Theme Icon
Gender and Marriage Theme Icon
...on his deathbed. With his dying breaths, the hermit told Frederic about a secret from St. Nicholas : where to find a giant sword. Once Frederic and his men unearthed the sword,... (full context)
Chapter 5
Humor, the Gothic, and the Supernatural Theme Icon
The Divine vs. The Mundane Theme Icon
Lineage and Leadership Theme Icon
Gender and Marriage Theme Icon
...Otranto, Ricardo’s ship was wrecked in a storm, and Ricardo then made a deal with St. Nicholas ensuring his survival and rule over Otranto in return for building a church and two... (full context)