Northanger Abbey, set in regency-era England, has cultural and social differences from modern society that may make the novel feel inaccessible to readers. Austen writes extensively of balls, traditional ideals of coming into society, introductions done only through acquaintances, and past courting customs, events and concepts so far removed from the life of the readers of today. The book suffers from feeling dated and detached, but the era is important to the understanding of the novel. Modern readers may not understand the intricacies of courtship, the scandal of riding in an open-top carriage with a beloved, nor the young woman’s entrance into high society. The book could become easier to understand with a preface explaining common societal practices of the era, or an index in the back, in order to give readers context for the novel. The book could also accomplish a similar goal with detailed footnotes. When being read in a classroom setting, the lecturer should take adequate time to explain the setting of the novel and its importance to the story as to make the book less confusing.
Aside from the societal customs within the novel, the writing itself may be difficult for twenty-first century readers. The text can feel dense at times, with foreign jargon, hard to understand wording, and out of date pop culture references. Austen references many Gothic writers and stories in her text, like Ann Radcliffe and The Monk, which may not be commonly known to modern audiences. A preface, footnotes, or readings contained in the back of a novel may help provide more context for readers. It could be helpful if, when taught in a classroom setting, the lecturer went over Gothic authors and famous works to help make the reader more familiar to them.
The novel, due to it being a Gothic parody, alludes to many elements of Gothic fiction. Without proper education on elements of Gothic literature, readers will not understand the full scope of the novel. It may not be a challenge for the reader at first, but the reader loses a dimension to the work without that knowledge. The hyped description of the castle from Tilney, Catherine’s desire for mystery and her own naivety, the elements of dread and romance, as well as the direct mention of Gothic works of literature help drive the point that the book is a Gothic parody, and play into the plot and character development of the story. A reader could benefit from an explanation of often used elements within Gothic literature for them to better understand the story, which could be once again accomplished by supplemental or additional writing inside or outside of the text itself.
Northanger Abbey may be a difficult for some modern readers, but it is still an important piece of literature characterizing both the time period it was written in, as well as various literary genres. It is important that writing is accessible to readers across time and continent, and Northanger Abbey is no exception.
Brit Lit 2020 