Victoria

Victoria never appears directly in the action, but her concealed marriage to Alfonso supplies the decisive link between the rightful line and the family that has ruled Otranto. Her daughter’s marriage to Jerome makes Theodore Alfonso’s descendant and, ultimately, the rightful heir; the disclosure recasts the succession conflict as the consequence of an old secret rather than a contest resolved by Manfred’s preference.

Identity and Background

Jerome recounts that Victoria was a young woman whom Alfonso met after a storm drove him to Sicily. Alfonso remained there for three months, wind-bound, and fell in love with her. The account gives Victoria no direct speech or independent action, but identifies her as the person whose marriage and pregnancy created a surviving branch of Alfonso’s family.

Marriage and Separation

Jerome says Alfonso was too pious to tempt Victoria into forbidden pleasures, and the two married. Alfonso considered the marriage difficult to reconcile with the religious vow of arms that bound him as he set out on the Crusade. He therefore intended to keep their nuptials secret until his return, when he would acknowledge Victoria as his lawful wife. His departure left her pregnant and the marriage unannounced.

During Alfonso’s absence, Victoria gave birth to a daughter. Before long, she heard the report that Alfonso had died and that Ricardo had succeeded him. Jerome describes her as friendless and helpless, and says she could not know whether her testimony about the marriage would be believed. He adds that he possesses an authentic written document concerning the case, though Manfred later says the supernatural events and recent calamities make further proof unnecessary.

Family Line and Revelation

Victoria’s daughter eventually married Jerome. Victoria herself died while the secret of the family’s descent remained locked in Jerome’s breast. Their daughter’s marriage made Theodore Alfonso’s descendant, though Theodore’s account had supplied only part of the story before Jerome disclosed the lineage.

The revelation arrives after the supernatural judgment against Manfred’s family. Manfred confesses that his grandfather Ricardo poisoned Alfonso and used a fictitious will to take the succession. He also recounts the prophecy that Ricardo’s descendants would rule Otranto until the rightful owner became too large to inhabit the castle, provided Ricardo’s male line continued. With that line exhausted except for Manfred, Jerome’s account of Victoria’s marriage explains how Alfonso nevertheless has an heir. Manfred accepts Theodore’s right and yields the principality.

Narrative Significance

Victoria’s importance lies in the consequences of a marriage hidden across generations. Alfonso’s attempt to postpone public recognition leaves Victoria and their child exposed to the effects of his reported death and Ricardo’s usurpation; Jerome’s silence keeps Theodore’s ancestry from resolving the dispute until the final revelation. Victoria thus connects private marriage and concealed kinship to the public question of legitimate rule. The plot names her as the mother of the rightful line, while leaving her own perspective and the circumstances of her later life largely outside the account.