NorthAnger Abbey

Is the novel more likely to encourage its audience to read Gothic fiction or discourage them from doing so? Why?

                My debate, throughout my read of Northanger Abbey, was whether Jane Austen intended this book to be a humorous tribute to Gothic literature, or a cautionary critique.  Throughout the book, Austen’s characters mostly pay homage to the genius entertainment of such literature.  Henry Tilney, who is possibly the most likeable and respected character in Austen’s book believes that, “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not the pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” (p. 86).  However, James Thorpe, a character designed for our disdain seems to have a fairly negative assessment of novels, especially the Gothic genre.  I wondered if we, the audience, were to align our dislike of Thorpe with his criticism and dismiss both of them.  Thorpe boldly shoots down Catherine’s reading interests by stating that, “Novels are all so full of nonsense and stuff.” (p. 40).

                Northanger Abbey is often described as a Gothic parody, but that doesn’t easily define Austen’s intentions.  Ultimately, I concluded that Austen intentionally designed her story, not just as a parody but also as a subtle critique as well.  Catherine Morland’s obsession with Gothic literature, which eventually led to her dramatized delusions of General Tilney as a murderer, were bizarrely contrasted with the rest of the story.  In fact, the difference was so stark, it seemed like two stories were entwined as one.  This disparity between themes led me to believe that this was an intentional strategy on Austen’s part.  I think it is at least possible that Austen wanted to draw attention to the damaging aspects of Gothic era horror novels on young impressionable minds.  She masterfully does this, not by open analysis, but by a subtle unraveling of the good senses of her heroine, who otherwise proves herself to be of genuine character.  However, we are clearly shown that Catherine is a naive young lady and is being directly molded by the environment in which she immerses herself.  She seems to obsessively relate life to her beloved Gothic novels, until she literally loses her grasp on reality and even risks the respect of her love, Henry Tilney.

                Catherine Morland has a definite transformation after she realizes that none of her delusions are real and are quite hurtful to the entire Tilney family.  Miss Morland has quite an emotional and cathartic experience once she regains her grasp on reality and is overwhelmed with guilt and shame at her behavior.  Her metamorphosis is not as overt as her emotions and I would argue that we see her abandon her obsession with Gothic literature as a central aspect of her development.  Previous to her awakening we see her constantly referencing Udolpho.  She questions James Thorpe, Isabella Thorpe, Eleanor Tilney and Henry Tilney about their feelings on the story and even more, her inner dialogue is constantly comparing real life to this novel.  In contrast, once she has recovered from her Gothic illusions, she seems purified of this obsession.  She reenters real life and never seems to reference or fixate on Udolpho, or any other novel.  This juxtaposition of character is also so sharp that I believe that it is an intentional tool used by Austen.  I think she designed this story to be a coming of age story that specifically shows Catherine’s evolution beyond Gothic literature. Considering these points, I would conclude that Austen wasn’t encouraging Gothic literature, but was highlighting it’s damaging qualities.