Northanger Abbey was written when Jane Austen was about twenty-four, but it was not published until after her death.

From the outset, the author establishes Catherine Morland as an antitype to the heroines of the sentimental novels that had been in vogue during the eighteenth century. She isn’t beautiful; she’s rather a tomboy, and she has no outstanding talents to recommend her. Naïve and innocent, Catherine’s endearing quality is her undoubted sincerity. There is certainly a striking contrast between her and the manipulative social-climber Isabella Thorpe, whose behaviour reveals her to be shallow and false.

‘Northanger Abbey’ meets many of the criteria for realist works, but also parodies both sentimental novels and Gothic texts - resulting in a fascinating blend of different genres. Catherine, who is heavily influenced by the books she reads, anticipates what she will encounter at the Abbey; however her expectations are dashed.

The novel’s two potential ‘baddies’, John Thorpe and General Tilney, don’t fit the bill as traditional Gothic villains, because Austen deliberately doesn’t think in simple terms of good and evil. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that she was trying to make a point: perhaps she is debunking the Gothic, whilst at the same time implying that everyday domestic situations have their own horrors; that oppression often takes place within the home, and that real life can be all too ‘Gothic’ for some people.

Many readers have felt frustrated and even cheated by the ‘puppet-show ending’. Your responses to this, and other aspects of the book, will be warmly welcomed.

Content last updated: 28/02/2005

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