Anne Radcliff's The Mysteries Of Northanger Abbey

She wished Isabella had… not looked so pleased at the sight of Captain Tilney. How strange that she could not perceive his admiration (100-101)!” This shows how blinded Catherine is by her admiration of others and unsureness of herself, and it shows how Catherine really views the world as a story in which people can only act in a way that fits into a gothic novel. Through these quotes the reader is able to more easily see how Austen playfully makes fun of the gothic novel and how the gothic novel skews Catherine’s view of what reality

Jane Austen’s novel, Northanger Abbey, seeks to explore the effect of wealth on society. Throughout the novel, this portrayal of wealth assumes an increasingly critical tone, and is thus used to suggest the negative impact of financial goals in a relationship. This is shown in the contrast between Catherine’s relationship with Mr. Tilney, and Isabella’s promiscuous ways. In this dynamic, Catherine remains pure, engaged to a poor clergyman, whereas her friend Isabella ensnares men in the hopes of gaining wealth and societal status. Through this dynamic, Austen provides an example of the British Romantic ideal that both love and the individual are only pure and righteous when freed from the constraints of society and affluence. Ironically, the Gothic novels that were prevalent in the later part of the British Romantic Period are frequently cited as a source of misfortune throughout the novel. Catherine, who is portrayed as good and pure, is misled into believing that the stories spun in Gothic novels are applicable to her own life. Her friend, Isabella, is also portrayed as a lover of the genre, which is Austen’s way of hinting at Isabella’s future sins. Although the Gothics influence both Catherine and Isabella, Austen portrays the characters as opposites-one the promiscuous villain and one the victim of the heroic tale. Austen continuously comments on the nature of heroism, and thus mocks the timid Catherine while ironically branding her a

Henry’s shocked, “dearest Miss Moreland, what ideas have you been admitting?” not only crushes Catherine’s “visions of romance” and humiliates her of all the gothic tendencies she had entertained throughout the novel, but it also serves to humble the reader; who presumably acted as eagerly as Catherine did in seeing the superficial and assuming that General Tilney was a terrible villain. However this overt satire of gothic literature and its heroines, who “plain as any” Catherine openly defies, also acts as a platform where Austen can criticise her society and how they value texts that openly objectify and demean women to superficial creatures. When Austen says, “gentlemen read better books,” in Miss Austen Regrets, the intertextual link in her words and the use of lighting and shadow elongates her face and emphasise the bitterness of her words. Allowing the responder to understand Austen’s own awareness of the confines that she as a female author experienced in the patriarchal and classist society of 19th Century England. This translates to Northanger Abbey when the mockable Catherine says, “if I could not be persuaded into doing what I thought wrong, I never will be tricked into it.” Revealing a deep level of integrity and honesty that the more socially accepted Isabella seems to lack. Austen mocks Catherine as a means of openly addressing the contemptuous nature of gothic literature, however she imbues Catherine with qualities integral to a wholesome human being to showcase to the responder, especially in the context of 19th Century England, that society’s gender roles not only shapes female relationships negatively but also shapes the characterisation of women in literature which contributes to the misogynistic mindset of the time and the

The culture of set societal rules and conventions urges Catherine to be with Edgar, compelling her to be ‘the greatest woman of the neighbourhood’ due to them being relatively firm in their gentry’s status. This suggests the importance of her social status against the nature of her love for Heathcliff stating, ‘we would be beggars’, through employing the word ‘beggars’ the reader crafts the idea of her belief that she won’t survive without her status. Catherine admits ‘It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him’ Thus implying a swelling sense of her vanity and pride; enough to enjoy the position she gains from being married to Edgar despite her admiration for Heathcliff, being ‘more than (herself) than (she is)’and

Set in 1798 England, Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is the “coming of age” story of Catherine Morland, a naïve young girl who spends time away from home at the malleable age of seventeen. Catherine’s introduction into society begins when Mr. and Mrs. Allen, her neighbors in Fullerton, invite her to accompany them as they vacation in the English town of Bath. While in Bath, Catherine spends her time visiting newly-made friends, such as Isabella Thorpe, and attending balls and plays. Catherine soon after is introduced to Henry Tilney, a handsome yet mysterious clergyman whom she finds herself attracted to. Catherine also befriends Eleanor

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is frequently described as a novel about reading—reading novels and reading people—while Pride and Prejudice is said to be a story about love, about two people overcoming their own pride and prejudices to realize their feelings for each other. If Pride and Prejudice is indeed about how two stubborn youth have misjudged each other, then why is it that this novel is so infrequently viewed to be connected to Austen’s original novel about misjudgment and reading one’s fellows, Northanger Abbey? As one of Austen’s first novels, Northanger Abbey is often viewed as a “prototype” to her later novels, but it is most often compared to Persuasion (Brown 50). However, if read discerningly, one can see in Pride and

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is essentially the “coming of age” story of Catherine Morland, a sympathetic yet naïve young girl who spends some time away from home at the impressionable age of seventeen. As Catherine matures in the town of Bath and at Northanger Abbey, she learns to forgo immature childhood fantasies in favor of the solid realities of adult life, thus separating falsehood from truth. This theme is expressed in a couple of ways, most obviously when Catherine’s infatuation with Gothic novels causes her to nearly ruin her relationship with Henry Tilney: her imagination finally goes too far, and she wrongly suspects General Tilney of murdering his late wife. The theme is less apparent

Austen used techniques such as comedic and satirical irony, to break the mould of the expectations of the novel genre. Austen could simply have written in the same gothic sensationalist style, or perhaps a sentimental novel, but she chose not to. Instead, she parodies and undercuts them, with subtle causticness, and ridicule. Austen’s priority when writing Northanger Abbey was to defend the novel as a genre, whilst also addressing the concept of ‘reading’ itself. Essentially, by writing in the style of the gothic, she emphasised the ordinariness of the domestic gothic and, patriarchal domestic violence, abuse, and the general oppression of women that was present in everyday life (p.59).

One way in which Austen satirized the common tropes of gothic in her novel was in the beginning with her introduction of the protagonist Catherine Morland. Generally, in gothic novels, the heroines are portrayed with beauty beyond words as well as the purest form of innocence that is beyond regular human comprehension. In Northanger Abbey Catherine Morland is the exact opposite. Austen described her as having "a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without color, dark lank hair, and strong features" (Austen 7). Catherine is not the stereotypical heroine from any typical gothic novel as she did not have any of that unnatural beauty. The type of person she wants to be is not the person she is. Growing up, Catherine always went against the norms of her society. She played with boys and enjoyed activities that were suited for boys, deviating from the acceptable behavior that befitted a woman in the early nineteenth century (Austen 7). Her likings followed that of a boy instead of a young lady, who, at the time,

The opening passage of Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey describes a woman by the name of Catherine Morland , who didn't quite exemplify the idealized and admired heroine qualities most individuals may have thought she would have displayed at an earlier age. This passage beginning with “ No one - and ending in slope at the back of the house” is composed of various literary techniques utilized to characterize Catherine Morland’s unconventional personality as an heroine. Austen uses imagery to portray her bland physical features and appearance , detail to describe her unremarkable proficiency, and lack of intellect , lastly the inclusion of understatements applies to her “extraordinary” propensities and abilities as a child.

Explicitly calling the first character we are being introduced to as a fictional being, a “heroine”. This is the set-up Austen wanted, she wanted the reader to already assume that because she is being called by such a adventurous title she herself will be an adventurous person which as by the end of the novel we discover isn’t the case at all. Austen keeps this up throughout the entire novel though referring to Catherine as the heroine when in a watered-down summary her biggest struggle is boy troubles. Austen specifically does this to get the point across that life isn’t as exciting as it is in a novel, and she uses Catherine as the example for us and shows how mundane life is at the time. Austen is in no way trying to mock the gothic genre here she is actually doing the opposite. Because the novel is metafictional we are able to see the growth of Catherine from someone who’s so engrossed in her life being a story to someone who accepts her reality and starts living life from there. Catherine is essentially us the reader and Austen uses this obsession with wanting our existence to be larger than life as the crutch of ourselves. Later in the novel we see how

Austen has set out to save the rising art form of the novel. In this address to the reader she glorifies what a novel should be: the unrestrained expression of words conveying the wide range of raw human emotion. This veneration of the novel is necessary to the development of Catherine's fiction-loving character as it justifies the narrator's right to remain fond of this flawed heroine.

She has made a false assumption regarding General Tilney and has matured from her mistakes. However, Catherine delusions, though eccentric, hint at the true nature of people and events. Thus, she is the first to recognize General Tilney, although not a murderer, is avaricious and cruel. This alludes to a more ironic aspect of the novel discussing the moral conduct of conventional social situation. Catherine’s notions are far fetched, yet they mold her being of an independent and quick minded young woman. Reality and fantasy are misconstrued, yet connected at the same time. Catherine is avid in her imagination, and while sometimes her mind can overcome her rationality, her tenacity is admirable, juxtaposing her personality from that of a natural Gothic hero. She has matured through her fantasies, balancing the world around her with her with her creative

Austen’s representation of reading epitomises the excesses of the imagination exhibited by sentimental readers which effectively led to their disconnection from reality. Austen’s employment of the gothic reflects Catherine’s transition from the excesses of her gothic fantasies to reality, which fundamentally enables Catherine to develop independent judgement through her exploration of human experience and to reject her projection of idealist imaginations influenced by her gothic readings (move up). Although Austen satirizes the excesses of sensibility through the characterisation of Catherine’s absorption of the gothic, Austen does not completely ridicule or dismiss the truth behind the gothic or the imagination. Richardson (2005:399) explains

Jane Austen was a renowned British novelist notorious for her critical choice of subject, exploring many topics relevant to society during her writing career. Northanger Abbey is no exception. In Northanger Abbey, Austen delves into the gothic novel, a popular literary genre in the 18th century characterised by its eerie, supernatural setting. Austen uses this convention to create a parody of the traditional gothic novel in volume 2 of the novel. We experience the story through the eyes of Catherine Morland, a young woman who, after becoming obsessed with a gothic novel, moves to an abbey where her mind starts playing tricks on her. Catherine starts seeing something horrific in almost everything she experiences and goes out of her way to find