The role of women in Castle of Otronto

Given the time period of the book's setting, the role of women had many limitations. In the story of The Castle of Otronto, the female characters are depicted as fragile physically and very pure morally. There were numerous occasions where the mother, Hypollita, fainted out of fear (and then people assumed she was dead) and all of the females were constantly being waited on by the caretakers. All of the female characters were also depicted as very pure and obedient. Even after being so mistreated by her father, Matilda didn't say one single word of disrespect, neither did Hypollita even when Manfred was an obvious tyrant. However, probably the most surprising reaction was that even when Manfred stabbed his own daughter (even though it was a mistake) Matilda immediately forgave him. That reaction was the hardest for me to relate to because I think most people in present day would obviously be really mad if that happened, not to mention his obvious forvoring of his son Conrad. The women also had to wait to let the men decide about their futures and who would marry who.
The female characters, especially Matilda and Isabella were definately the focus for reader's sympathies. Another common role was the role of the femme fatal played by both Isabella and Matilda. Their beauty captivated the two princes, who would do anything in order to have the two women.