# Bianca — The Castle of Otranto character guide

> Bianca in The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0005-i

## Snapshot

Matilda's superstitious maid, whose babbling about ghosts and handsome cavaliers turns a quiet castle night into a haunted vigil.

## Who they are

Bianca serves Matilda inside the castle's cloistered, melancholy routine, and her idle tongue is the household's chief source of gossip and dread. She is terrified of the ghost she is certain haunts the chamber below, yet her chatter about Isabella's fondness for young men quietly exposes the desires the castle suppresses. When a voice sings beneath Matilda's window, Bianca's panic forces her mistress to act, making the servant's fear the hinge on which the story's first secret swings open.

## Relationships

### [Matilda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/matilda)

_professional_

Bianca is Matilda's loyal and talkative servant, providing comic relief and devoted service.

### [Manfred](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/manfred)

_professional_

Bianca is a servant in Manfred's household, often fearful of his temper and subject to his authority.

### [Madam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/madam)

_professional_

Bianca serves Madam (likely Hippolita or another lady of the castle) as a domestic servant, gossiping and carrying out orders.

### [Madam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/madam)

_professional_

Bianca serves Madam (likely Hippolita or another lady of the castle) as a domestic servant, gossiping and carrying out orders.

### [Matilda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/matilda)

_professional_

Bianca is Matilda's loyal and talkative servant, providing comic relief and devoted service.

### [Manfred](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/manfred)

_professional_

Bianca is a servant in Manfred's household, often fearful of his temper and subject to his authority.

### [Matilda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/matilda)

_professional_

Bianca is Matilda's loyal and talkative servant, providing comic relief and devoted service.

### [Manfred](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/manfred)

_professional_

Bianca is a servant in Manfred's household, often fearful of his temper and subject to his authority.

## In the story

### [Preface to the First Edition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/chapters/preface-to-the-first-edition)

Mentioned as a domestic whose womanish terror and foibles in the last chapter advance the catastrophe.

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/chapters/v)

Questioned by Manfred about Isabella's affections, she deflects and avoids revealing secrets.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/bianca
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters