Northanger Abbey
Summary
Chapter 1
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Chapter 17 - page 98
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Chapter 3
Ballroom Etiquette (Manners)
- Gentlemen (including married men) are expected to look out for any single ladies who are not dancing, and get them involved with the dance.
- Ladies cannot be asked to dance with men, and they cannot dance with a man unless they have been properly introduced.
- Ladies must say yes to a dance unless they are sitting out from that dance, or else it would offend the man who asked the lady and the host.
- Couples can't dance more than 2 or 3 times, dances were a social event.
- You were able to tell someones' social class by their attire, speech and behaviour.
- To criticise someone about their clothing or dancing was considered to be extremely rude.
- Basic good manners and respect was expected.
Interaction between Catherine and Henry
- During Chapter 3, this is when we notice the interaction between Catherine and Henry, through their banters, flirting and how Henry takes the mick out of girls keeping journals.
- Henry says that there are only 3 things wrong when women write - he's insulting them in a joking way.
- Henry is not a misogynist, he's only playing with them.
A Conventional Hero?
- A conventional Gothic hero is mysterious, dark and brooding.
- Mr Tilney is not a conventional hero, as he is playful, he likes clothing, reading and horse-riding.
- Mr Tilney does follow the conventions of the ballroom etiquette, as he compliments Catherine and he introduces her to the host.
- However, he deliberately spends time with Catherine, and doesn't follow other ballroom conventions - more from his heart.
How Austen use the Ballroom Discussion to Further the Narrative
- There is romance, banter, flirting and we find out more about Catherine and Henry.
- There is a binary opposition between John and Henry.
A Defence of Novels
- The narrator interjects into the narrative, and talks directly to the reader.
- Usually the omniscient narrator paints the picture and stays in the background.
- Cheap printing and publishing flourished through the 18th century, causing a greater demand in literacy.
- As novels were not considered to be classical or educational, they were of lower quality.
- However, Austen disagreed with this by writing a rant within the novel.
- She wrote how novels showed both elements of the world and human nature, therefore displaying knowledge.
- She said to let only critics reviews and abuse it.
- Austen explains how even novel writers don't even take pride in their work and they should stick together.
- It is easy to repeat a few lines from a poet or big serious books, but novels are more intricate.
- Novels have genius, wit and taste.
- The irony is that Austen is writing this in a novel.
Introductions of Isabella vs Eleanor
- Isabella vs Eleanor is beauty vs goodness
- Isabella - "her eldest daughter has great personal beauty"
- Eleanor has more elegance and class.
Criticism Through Men
- Austen criticises men through books
- John Thorpe
- "Udolpho! Oh Lord not I!"
- " I have something else to do"
- 'The Monk' - a very famous Gothic novel
- 'Tom Jones' - bildungsroman novel, about a young person who goes on a journey to find out about the world and themselves.
Chapter 9
Marriage and Dancing
Extract:
“Going to? Why, you have not forgot our engagement! Did not we agree together to take a drive this morning? What a head you have! We are going up Claverton Down.”
“Something was said about it, I remember,” said Catherine, looking at Mrs. Allen for her opinion; “but really I did not expect you.”
“Not expect me! That’s a good one! And what a dust you would have made, if I had not come.”
Catherine’s silent appeal to her friend, meanwhile, was entirely thrown away, for Mrs. Allen, not being at all in the habit of conveying any expression herself by a look, was not aware of its being ever intended by anybody else; and Catherine, whose desire of seeing Miss Tilney again could at that moment bear a short delay in favour of a drive, and who thought there could be no impropriety in her going with Mr. Thorpe, as Isabella was going at the same time with James, was therefore obliged to speak plainer. “Well, ma’am, what do you say to it? Can you spare me for an hour or two? Shall I go?”
“Do just as you please, my dear,” replied Mrs. Allen, with the most placid indifference. Catherine took the advice, and ran off to get ready. In a very few minutes she reappeared, having scarcely allowed the two others time enough to get through a few short sentences in her praise, after Thorpe had procured Mrs. Allen’s admiration of his gig; and then receiving her friend’s parting good wishes, they both hurried downstairs. “My dearest creature,” cried Isabella, to whom the duty of friendship immediately called her before she could get into the carriage, “you have been at least three hours getting ready. I was afraid you were ill. What a delightful ball we had last night. I have a thousand things to say to you; but make haste and get in, for I long to be off.”
“Going to? Why, you have not forgot our engagement! Did not we agree together to take a drive this morning? What a head you have! We are going up Claverton Down.”
“Something was said about it, I remember,” said Catherine, looking at Mrs. Allen for her opinion; “but really I did not expect you.”
“Not expect me! That’s a good one! And what a dust you would have made, if I had not come.”
Catherine’s silent appeal to her friend, meanwhile, was entirely thrown away, for Mrs. Allen, not being at all in the habit of conveying any expression herself by a look, was not aware of its being ever intended by anybody else; and Catherine, whose desire of seeing Miss Tilney again could at that moment bear a short delay in favour of a drive, and who thought there could be no impropriety in her going with Mr. Thorpe, as Isabella was going at the same time with James, was therefore obliged to speak plainer. “Well, ma’am, what do you say to it? Can you spare me for an hour or two? Shall I go?”
“Do just as you please, my dear,” replied Mrs. Allen, with the most placid indifference. Catherine took the advice, and ran off to get ready. In a very few minutes she reappeared, having scarcely allowed the two others time enough to get through a few short sentences in her praise, after Thorpe had procured Mrs. Allen’s admiration of his gig; and then receiving her friend’s parting good wishes, they both hurried downstairs. “My dearest creature,” cried Isabella, to whom the duty of friendship immediately called her before she could get into the carriage, “you have been at least three hours getting ready. I was afraid you were ill. What a delightful ball we had last night. I have a thousand things to say to you; but make haste and get in, for I long to be off.”
Propriety and Impropriety - being socially acceptable or not?
Dancing was an integral part of the 18th C. life, because it allowed single people to meet and have an extended conversation with others. This provided an opportunity for courtship (dating). However, strict rules were to be followed to maintain propriety.
- Catherine is propriety due to the way she speaks and asks Mrs Allen about things and where to go.
- Mrs Allen is not propriety because she doesn't notice that Catherine is about to go off with another man.
- John is not propriety because of the way he speaks and acts, it is quite rude and inconsiderate.
Dancing was an integral part of the 18th C. life, because it allowed single people to meet and have an extended conversation with others. This provided an opportunity for courtship (dating). However, strict rules were to be followed to maintain propriety.
What did Henry believe?
- He thought that marriage is like dancing, as it involves commitment.
- Figuratively, they are, married/ engaged, as they have each other's support and attraction and they can't be with anyone else.
What did Catherine believe?
- Dancing is not like marriage, as the dance only lasted half an hour where as marriage is forever, and dancing doesn't mean anything.
Are they compatible?
- Catherine and Henry are compatible, because although they are having a banter, Henry will agree with what Catherine says, but put her point into his argument
- John, on the other hand, would completely disagree with Catherine and talk over her.
- As well as the banter, Catherine and Henry are flirting.
Chapter 11
Setting and Appearance
In Chapter 11, Catherine made plans to go out with the Tilneys, however, while waiting inside for the pouring rain to stop, Isabella, John and James tell her to go with them to Bristol. They say that they are going to 'Blaise Castle' (which is not a real castle) to visit all the towers and castles there, which persuades Catherine to join them. But, she feels guilty about leaving the Tilneys. When they all leave together, Catherine sees Henry and Eleanor going to Catherine's house, she asks John to stop, but he just goes faster.
Therefore, from this chapter we see that Catherine is:
And from this chapter we also see that John is:
In Gothic fiction, there is an abduction scene when the heroine is captures by the villain. Austen is mocking this, she does this by:
Extract:
"Thorpe talked to his horse, and she meditated, by turns, on broken promises and broken arches, phaetons and false hangings, Tilneys and trap-doors."
Therefore, from this chapter we see that Catherine is:
- Gullible
- Trusting
- Naive
- Weak willed
- The Gothic Heroine
And from this chapter we also see that John is:
- Rude
- Cunning
- A liar
- Deceptive
- Unscrupulous
- The Gothic Villain
In Gothic fiction, there is an abduction scene when the heroine is captures by the villain. Austen is mocking this, she does this by:
- Using Dramatic Irony
- Taking the mick out of the heroine
- Making it a not real kidnap, as Catherine is just falling into the traps
Extract:
"Thorpe talked to his horse, and she meditated, by turns, on broken promises and broken arches, phaetons and false hangings, Tilneys and trap-doors."
- "Thorpe talked to his horse" - shows that John is self-centered, dumb and oblivious to what is going on.
- "broken promises" - the promise that Catherine made to the Tilneys.
- "broken arches" - the castle that she is going to visit.
- "phaetons" - the carriage that she is sitting in.
- "false hangings" - a secret passage way behind a tapestry.
- Austen uses a list of 3 and alliteration to drive the narrative forward.
How does Northanger Abbey mock the idea of the Gothic?
Jane Austen takes the typical Gothic scene where the innocent heroine gets abducted by the villain, and turns it into a parody by not making it a real kidnap. Austen portrays Catherine to be gullible and naive, and so she was lured into going to the 'finest place in England" according to the cunning John. Due to the fact that Catherine was obsessed with the Gothic novel 'Mysteries of Udolpho', the offer which John make to go to Blaize Castle which, according to him, was the "oldest in the kingdom", convinced Catherine entirely. However, this is dramatic irony, because the 'Blaize Castle' is a folly and was built in 1766. Therefore, Catherine walked into her own trap instead of being viciously taken by the monstrous villain.
Chapter 12
Appearance - Catherine was ignored by Miss Tilney
What did this say about society at that time?
What does it say about the characters?
How does this drive the narrative forward?
How different would be the understanding of a 19th Century reader?
- People were expected to stick to their word and the promises that they make.
- It was easy to break someone's trust.
- If you were rejected by one member of the family, you were rejected by the whole family.
What does it say about the characters?
- The Tilney's were a well respected family
- Catherine was an outcast, and she was not used to that type of lifestyle. She is treated more as an adult rather than a young adult, although she was only 17 years old. This could foreshadow the status that she would receive - unreliable?
How does this drive the narrative forward?
- This gives more of a reason for Catherine to talk to Henry and explain herself.
- The relationship between Henry and Catherine would develop from this.
How different would be the understanding of a 19th Century reader?
- Catherine could be possibly shunned due to her actions.
- The Tilney's could be seen as the victims of the scene
- However, they would understand the strict rules of society better, and my feel sympathy towards Catherine, as they realise that she has to act a certain way in that society.
- Both us and the 19th C. readers must feel sympathy for Catherine because she is tricked and manipulated by the rules of society by John.
Settings in the Novel
- Bath
- Lower / Upper rooms
- Ballroom
- Blaize
- The Allen's House
- Theatre
- Clifton
- Fullerton
- The Tilney's house
- Northanger Abbey
Picturesque
- After the theatre, Henry, Eleanor and Catherine go for a walk and talk about the Picturesque. Catherine, does not know what this is, but they kindly try to explain what it is to her.
- Catherine still didn't know what was going on, and the Tilney's were well educated.
- Austen is taking the mick, the Tilney's know what they are talking about (they have 'real taste' and Catherine doesn't have this). She thought very little about this.
- The Tilney's prefer thunder rather then a clear sky - the sublime and the Gothic. Austen says Catherine should feel ashamed.
- She also says that women should hide their views, and women are not supposed to know anything - iron, saying men are vain.
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced in 1782 by William Gilpin in 'Observation on the River Wye'.
- It is part of the tropes of Romanticism and the Gothic.
- It is about looking at the difference between the beautiful (soft, curves, womanly figure) and the sublime (awe, too much to comprehend).
- It is also about emotion, and they discuss emotion, and how they felt when they are in awe.
- Catherine still didn't know what was going on, and the Tilney's were well educated.
- Austen is taking the mick, the Tilney's know what they are talking about (they have 'real taste' and Catherine doesn't have this). She thought very little about this.
- The Tilney's prefer thunder rather then a clear sky - the sublime and the Gothic. Austen says Catherine should feel ashamed.
- She also says that women should hide their views, and women are not supposed to know anything - iron, saying men are vain.
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced in 1782 by William Gilpin in 'Observation on the River Wye'.
- It is part of the tropes of Romanticism and the Gothic.
- It is about looking at the difference between the beautiful (soft, curves, womanly figure) and the sublime (awe, too much to comprehend).
- It is also about emotion, and they discuss emotion, and how they felt when they are in awe.
Chapter 21
How does Henry's story on the cinicle help iginite Catherine's imagination?
Lexical Field -
- Mysterious
- Gothic tropes
- exaggerated
- Henry knows the house and he knows her well, especially her love for Gothic fiction. Therefore, he is playing along with her, and to pass time.
- "Old fashioned cabinet of ebony and gold"
- "a roll of papers"
- There is also parts of the story which foreshadow later events - "violent storm", "ebony cabinet".
- Catherine is inquisitive, curious, gullible, naive and child-like. Therefore, we feel pity for her, as she is a nice person, we are watching her grow up. We see everything and how Catherine does not see it.
- From Henry's Gothic story, she starts to make her own up, with the assumptions about the General.
- Her attitude about the family makes her act in that way.
Chapter 24
Henry's Comments to Catherine
How has Austen used Henry to teach Catherine?
- Austen used Henry to make Catherine realise the reality which she should be seeing rather than her Gothic fantasy. He does this by explaining what really happened with Mrs Tilney's death.
- Henry said that there was nothing in the room, which make him suspicious of what she was doing.
- Henry explained the truth about the death of Mrs Tilney, and was not very Gothic.
- Henry is teaching Catherine that she shouldn't assume things based on vague facts of Gothic fantasies.
- Austen's purpose was to show how Catherine was lost in her Gothic fantasies, because in reality, there are enough challenges that she face.
- The Gothic is not all about dread and terror.
- Henry reminds Catherine of who is she - "we are English, that we are Christians" , then he asks what caused her to get her judgment from.
Chapter 27
Isabella's Letter
What devices in Isabella's letter has Austen used to reveal details about Isabella through the language?
- It shows that Isabella is cunning and decietful in the way she is able to fool an innocent women for her advantage.
- From this, Catherine learns that she shouldn't be trusted as she lied to her, and now Catherine knows that she should know better.
- She uses hyperbole to make it over sweet - "kind letters" , "greatest delight", though Catherine is now able to see right through it.
- She use irony makes makes Isabella a hypocrite - "Many girls might have been taken it, for never were such intentions; but I knew the fickle sex too well"
- She attempts to get sympathy from Catherine but at the same time, she blames James for the break up.
- It shows that Isabella is cunning and decietful in the way she is able to fool an innocent women for her advantage.
- From this, Catherine learns that she shouldn't be trusted as she lied to her, and now Catherine knows that she should know better.
Chapter 28
The General's Unexpected Return
What does the General do in this chapter?
What effect does this have on Eleanor and Catherine?
- The General returns unexpectedly and tells Catherine to leave immediately the next morning.
- It shows that the General is mysterious, and in the General's eyes, Catherine went from being a favourable guest to an intruder.
What effect does this have on Eleanor and Catherine?
- It is mysterious and confusion for both Catherine and the readers, as we do not know the reasons why.
- Catherine is confused, upset as she sees no obvious why she must have upset the General, yet she is curious to know why.
- Eleanor is shocks, confused and curious too and slightly embarrassed at the way her father reaction to their guest.
- Eleanor becomes very helpless and victimised by her father as he is very controlling.
- Due to the General's orders which were directed at Catherine, Eleanor could not help Catherine.
- It shows that women (daughters) were not allowed to rebel or speak against the man of the house.
Gothic Tension
- Austen uses language to build up Gothic tension, by making the scene to be mysterious and abnormal. This is mainly though the actions of Eleanor, as "half an hour was almost gone since [the captain's] arrival, and Eleanor did not come up".
- Austen also makes the scene quite eerie for Catherine as she was in the gallery and "all was silent"
- Catherine has been sent away, so now she has become isolated and vulnerable
- She is frightened by her experience and got kick out by the Gothic villain.
- Austen's purpose of this was to show that Catherine did get her Gothic fantasy that she was yearning to happen, but she is not liking it, to show the downside of both reality and Gothic fantasies.
- It also builds Gothic tension and drives the narrative forward.
To what extent do you agree with the view that is Eleanor rather than Catherine who is closer to the stereotypical Gothic heroine?
From the start of Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland is perceived as the unconventional Gothic heroine according to the omniscient narrator. The tropes of a stereotypical Gothic heroine include being inquisitive, pure, intelligent and innocent, most of which Catherine is. It could be argued that Catherine is a conventional heroine due to her fascination for Gothic novels, therefore making her act like a Gothic heroine. Her inquisitiveness is shown through her growing "fearful curiosity" as she decided to explore the strange chest in the middle of the night, which ended up containing laundry lists and receipts. We see how Catherine's love for Gothic novels has encouraged her inquisitive nature to live in a fantasy of Gothic experiences.
On the other hand, Eleanor's background gives us a clear indication that she could be the conventional Gothic heroine. Due to her mother's "sudden death", leaving her with an almost oppressive father, who gave her "the first intimation of his presence" as a way to show his control over Eleanor. Eleanor Tilney is a clearer stereotypical Gothic heroine from her "good figure, pretty face and agreeable countenance", giving a sense of good nature and kindness. One of the most important features which Eleanor obtains is her intelligence, including her insight about the "picturesque". Where Catherine lacks her knowledge about this subject, Eleanor flourishes, therefore illustrating the contrast between the two characters.
We see a constant theme of conventional Gothic heroine tropes around Eleanor through the novel. However, with Catherine, although she was more into "cricket" than "gardening" in her younger years, we see her transform and grow to ultimately find herself by the end of the novel, which could be a conventional feature. It could be considered that for Catherine, there is a thin line between innocence and naive. Catherine's naive is shown when forcefully encouraged by the Thorpes and James to take a trip to Blaize castle with them. When John lures Catherine to join them to the "old castle", through her excitement and the dramatic irony, we see how the lack of innocence has lead her to fall into the trap.
Though it is clear to us that Eleanor is more of a Gothic heroine, there are elements suggesting that it is to an extent. For instance, we realise that General Tilney's greed for money is what makes it seem a monstrous character. This does not take away the fact that although Catherine is the heroine in this novel, Eleanor attributes to more of the stereotypical Gothic heroine tropes.
On the other hand, Eleanor's background gives us a clear indication that she could be the conventional Gothic heroine. Due to her mother's "sudden death", leaving her with an almost oppressive father, who gave her "the first intimation of his presence" as a way to show his control over Eleanor. Eleanor Tilney is a clearer stereotypical Gothic heroine from her "good figure, pretty face and agreeable countenance", giving a sense of good nature and kindness. One of the most important features which Eleanor obtains is her intelligence, including her insight about the "picturesque". Where Catherine lacks her knowledge about this subject, Eleanor flourishes, therefore illustrating the contrast between the two characters.
We see a constant theme of conventional Gothic heroine tropes around Eleanor through the novel. However, with Catherine, although she was more into "cricket" than "gardening" in her younger years, we see her transform and grow to ultimately find herself by the end of the novel, which could be a conventional feature. It could be considered that for Catherine, there is a thin line between innocence and naive. Catherine's naive is shown when forcefully encouraged by the Thorpes and James to take a trip to Blaize castle with them. When John lures Catherine to join them to the "old castle", through her excitement and the dramatic irony, we see how the lack of innocence has lead her to fall into the trap.
Though it is clear to us that Eleanor is more of a Gothic heroine, there are elements suggesting that it is to an extent. For instance, we realise that General Tilney's greed for money is what makes it seem a monstrous character. This does not take away the fact that although Catherine is the heroine in this novel, Eleanor attributes to more of the stereotypical Gothic heroine tropes.