# Hippolita — The Castle of Otranto character guide

> Hippolita in The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Princess Hippolita, the virtuous and tender Hippolita

**First appearance:** 0003-the-castle-of-otranto

## Snapshot

Manfred's virtuous and tender wife, a princess whose compassion for the distressed stands in stark contrast to her husband's cruelty.

## Who they are

Hippolita is the mother of Conrad and Matilda, a woman whose beneficent soul, as her daughter says, ever melts for the distressed. She faints at the news of her son's death, yet her concern for others never wavers, and she offers the young stranger protection through the friar Jerome even as her own household fractures. Her quiet piety and maternal steadiness expose the moral rot at the center of Manfred's rule, making her the conscience the castle cannot quite silence.

## Relationships

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

_family_

Hippolita is Manfred's long-suffering, devoted wife who endures his cruelty and infidelity with pious submission.

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

_family_

Hippolita is Matilda's loving and gentle mother, sharing a bond of mutual care and piety.

### [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/isabella)

_friendship_

Hippolita treats Isabella with maternal kindness and sympathy, often trying to shield her from Manfred's wrath.

### [Jerome](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/jerome)

_friendship_

Hippolita and Jerome are allies in faith and morality, working together to counter Manfred's evil and protect the innocent.

### [Theodore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/theodore)

_friendship_

Hippolita shows kindness and compassion to Theodore, recognizing his noble nature despite his lowly appearance.

### [Frederic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/frederic)

_social_

Frederic, a marquis and former suitor of Hippolita, arrives at the castle with a claim and a history of past connection to her.

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

_family_

Hippolita is Manfred's long-suffering, devoted wife who endures his cruelty and infidelity with pious submission.

### [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/isabella)

_friendship_

Hippolita treats Isabella with maternal kindness and sympathy, often trying to shield her from Manfred's wrath.

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

_family_

Hippolita is Manfred's long-suffering, devoted wife who endures his cruelty and infidelity with pious submission.

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

_family_

Hippolita is Matilda's loving and gentle mother, sharing a bond of mutual care and piety.

### [Isabella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/isabella)

_friendship_

Hippolita treats Isabella with maternal kindness and sympathy, often trying to shield her from Manfred's wrath.

### [Jerome](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/characters/jerome)

_friendship_

Hippolita and Jerome are allies in faith and morality, working together to counter Manfred's evil and protect the innocent.

## In the story

### [The Castle of Otranto](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/chapters/the-castle-of-otranto)

Manfred's virtuous wife, whom he seeks to divorce in his quest for a male heir.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_castle_of_otranto_se/chapters/i)

Hippolita is Manfred's wife, a virtuous and tender princess who grieves for her son and is unaware of Manfred's plan to divorce her.

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

Hippolita remains virtuous and submissive, praying for her husband's peace and refusing to hear ill of him.

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

Hippolita is reported dead by a monk, but Jerome insists she is well; her fate remains uncertain.

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

Learns of the princesses' love for Theodore and Manfred's divorce plot; considers self-sacrifice.

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

Devastated by Matilda's death, she urges Manfred to accept divine judgment and seek refuge in a convent.

## Links

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