Does Northanger Abbey actually have a villain? What, exactly, is a villain? 

The first of several definitions says a villain is “a character in a story or play who opposes the hero.” Initially it might seem like this is a good fit for the Thorpes, maybe even General Tilney. However, the word “opposition” brings doubt to this definition. While it is true that the Thorpe siblings cause plenty of trouble for Catherine, they never really oppose her. In fact, they seem much more involved in their own enrichment than preventing the progress of their ‘friend’ Catherine. Kidnapping, lying, and telling Gen. Tilney that Catherine is poor are all scummy and deplorable actions, but they never stem from a malicious desire to undo our hero or stand in direct opposition to her. These actions stem more from pure selfishness and lack of consideration, and Catherine is often no more than a pawn to them. Even Gen. Tilney doesn’t fit into the category of “opposition,” since he is more than happy to accommodate Catherine until he discovers she is poor, and at that point he is more upset with the fact that he may have wasted time and hospitality on someone who (he thought) wasn’t who they said they were– he even eventually helps Catherine and Henry accomplish their goals.  

The next definition of a villain is “a deliberate scoundrel or criminal.” The former part fits John, and the latter might work for General Tilney. John is a scoundrel through and through, but it’s hard to justify pinning him as the villain with this definition. The main reason is that very little about John appears to be “deliberate.” He doesn’t seem to be very calculating or methodical, but instead does things impulsively like lying to Catherine about seeing the Tilney’s leave and then refusing to let her out. When thinking of a “deliberate scoundrel,” a character more like Lovelace from Richardson’s Clarissa comes to mind, as he spent every resource orchestrating plots to trick Clarissa into leaving her family and marrying him, often resorting to heinously unscrupulous machinations to achieve his goals. By contrast, John is more of a jerk than a true villain.

 Another reason is that John disappears from the novel shortly after Catherine arrives at the abbey, and other than his mention to Gen. Tilney about her wealth, he stays away from her affairs. John might be a scoundrel and a villain by nature, but he is not the villain of Northanger Abbey, since he also appears to give up about midway through. As for Gen. Tilney, he seems like a good candidate for the villain of the novel and might fit the definition of a “deliberate criminal” for murdering his wife, until we learn that he hasn’t actually done anything legally wrong. 

The other variations of the definition of “villain” don’t elucidate the matter much more than these two, other than to establish that Northanger Abbey does not have a true villain. However, there is no doubt that the Thorpes, and John in particular, are the closest contenders. Sorry, the title is a bit of a lie.

         Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen has several characters that would fit the prototype of a villain; however, General Tilney’s attitude and mannerisms make him stand out as when compared to the rest of the villains featured. While it is considered normal for families to judge and choose spouses based on financial resources, the General’s thoughts and actions in regard to finding out Catherine’s background were cruel and unnecessary. Additionally, even though Catherine is living a Gothic novel fantasy in her head, his attitude in general make Catherine suspect him as a murder who killed his own wife. His anxious and demanding personality traits make him difficult to be around and his high expectations in regard to money turn him into a rude host and friend in this novel.

         General Tilney is obsessed with money and when he comes to believe that Catherine comes from a wealthy family due to his confusion of her always being with the Allens since they invited her to Bath. This constant concert over money and being judgmental showed how cruel the General was after he found out that Catherine was not as wealthy as he previously believed her to be. After an enjoyable stay at the Abbey, Catherine received a message from Eleanor that came from the General advising her the family was leaving town and she had to leave as well. Frustrated and dismayed, Eleanor says, “Tomorrow morning is fixed for your leaving us, and not even the hour is left to your choice; the very carriage is ordered, and will be here at 7 o’clock, and no servant will be offered to you” (177). This passage directly shows how cruel the General was because Catherine was a young girl, a child really, at only age 17 who was supposed to go home alone with no care and safety. She was given no time to even pack her items and plan her trip home because of the way the General kicked her out. This was all simply because the General learned she was not wealthy and did not want her to have his son’s attention. His childlike, disrespectful, and cruel acts in reaction to Catherine’s true self are very villainess even if he is not evil in every act he does. He is a villain in this story because he is very conceited and self-centered and the pain and stress he inflicts on others is done without remorse.         

  We also see the General in another similar shadow of being a villain because of the way he talks to not only his own children but others around him. He has a very anxious personality that makes others have to walk on eggshells around him as even being late to a meal is considered a serious offense to the General. At one point of the novel when Catherine is in a rush Austen writes, “…she greatly dreaded disobliging the General in any delay” (129). It seems that if things are not going exactly his way, he does not want to participate. Additionally, it’s this same hasty behavior that makes Catherine suspect him of killing his own wife. This was also before he treats Catherine with cruelty, so her views are not driven by bias but rather the way he treats those around him. The way that others perceive him sends a message about the way he comes across to those that meet him. It may seem insignificant for others to see the General as a villain because there are in fact eviler characters, however, his repeated acts of cruelty and rudeness make him difficult to forget when discussing a villain.

During our class discussion, we analyzed the characters found in Northanger Abbey and listed some of their defining characteristics. After evaluating John Thorpe, our class came up with rude, possessive, arrogant, aggressive, manipulative, and a drunk as some of the deciding factors of his temperament.

 Of course, Thorpe isn’t trying to thwart Catherine or tie her to the railroad tracks, but he and his sister Isabella are deceitful and toxic towards Catherine and cause her a great deal of trouble, thus making John Thorpe the villain of Jane Austen’s “Northanger Abbey.” John Thorpe relentlessly tries to win over Catherine’s affections despite her having feelings for Henry Tilney; at one point in the book, John Thorpe believes that Catherine is in love with him. I believe that this is due to is stubborn hardheadedness, he believes that Catherine is in love with him just because he wants her to be.

John Thorpe’s villainous ways are first noticed when he keeps Catherine from going on her planned walk with the Tilney’s, Eleanor and Henry. Eleanor becomes Catherine’s new close friend now that Isabella is always occupied with James, and Catherine has deep-rooted feelings for Henry. The first time Thorpe derails Catherine’s plans with the Tilneys she is irritated, but the second time Thorpe tries to mix-up her plans she firmly rejects his attempts to intervene. 

This shows John Thorpe’s arrogant, possessive, manipulative and behavior and made very clear in this scene after Catherine shows her displeasure and John Thorpe still tries to pursue her. John Thorpe’s complete disregard for Catherine’s emotions makes him a villain and Catherine is too polite and innocent to publicly denounce him. Catherine is too afraid to make her opinions on John Thorpe known to her friends which can be seen quite obviously in this quote from the book: ““Well Catherine, how do you like my friend Thorpe?” instead of answering, as she probably would have done, had there been no friendship or flattery in the case, “I do not like him at all;” she directly replied, “I like him very much, he seems very agreeable.”.”

John Thorpe constantly refuses to stray from his own plans because he wants people to do as he pleases. Catherine becomes infuriated with him when he will not stop the carriage and let her out and see the Tilneys, but it is made clear that John Thorpe even takes visible pleasure in Catherine’s discomfort and anger because he laughs and urges his horse to go faster. I believe that John Thorpe acts this way because he believes that him being a man grants him power over Catherine so he is completely guiltless for his mistreatment of her.

Due to the context in which this novel was written, It may be hard for a class of American students in 2020 to understand various aspects of the socioeconomic and class driven culture in which Catherine Morland finds herself.

The first aspect that comes to mind in which there may be a disconnect for present day readers are some of the comical parodies and lines in which popular Gothic literature is referenced. This is due to the gap in time in which we find ourselves and the text we are interacting with. Furthermore, losing this context may have readers not understanding the comedy of many of the scenes, and therefore being less interested / entertained by some things that people in this time period would be. Catherine also imagines / fantasizes that she herself is living in a gothic novel based world, and so many of her decisions in the book as well as her reasons behind them may not be understood by present day readers who aren’t familiar with the genre.

The second aspect I can think of is that this novel is very class based, and to some of us who are less interested in the “problems of rich people,” readers may lose interest quickly. The whole concept of a girl looking for love in a town of rich people who are for the most part very snobbish may be difficult for some to get into: perhaps because of the lack of understanding of context of time period as well. Throughout the book, there are talks of possible courtships and discussions of family’s monetary worth that simply does not apply for most if not any people today (especially in countries like America). This may lead present day readers to not only not understand why characters make the decisions they make about courting one another, but also why character’s react to those decisions the way they do.

I think that a remedy for this would be to research the context of the time period extensively before beginning the reading of this novel. Familiarizing oneself with socioeconomic norms and issues, courtship norms, as well as gothic literary references that will be made in the novel will drastically improve present day readers’ understanding and enjoyment of Northanger Abbey.

Northanger Abbey is a direct parody of the gothic novel, and in that way, Austen is not discouraging readership of gothic novels but rather making fun of the silly girls. The first sentence of the novel sets the tone of mockery by stating, “No one who had seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be an heroine.” The narrator then goes on to point out Catherine’s sub-par qualities that would hinder her from being a true gothic heroine. The narrator starts off Catherine’s story with this chiding tone of the silly ideas from gothic novels. 

After Catherine and Isabella become fast friends the two girls bonded over their love of gothic fiction. Isabella is eventually shown to be a pretty negative character. She can’t be called strictly a villain but she did hurt Catherine’s brother James when she was dissatisfied with his income and proved herself to be a tremendous flirt by pursuing Henry Tilney’s brother. At best Isabella is portrayed as a very negative aspect of what women of that station could be. Isabella is closely associated with Isabella she tells Catherine when they are discussing Udolpho that, “Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.” Isabella is a bad role model for Catherine and a lover of the gothic. The framing of Isabella as a typical picture of gothic readership also frames said readership as inherently distrustful. 

Later in the story, we see, again, why gothic novels are not good for young women when Catherine makes her visit to Northanger Abbey. Henry tells Catherine a scary story on their way to the house and Catherine soon finds herself getting swept up by her own fancy. On her first night in her stay, Catherine notices a cabinet and discovers papers, scared to death she runs to bed but is disappointed in the morning to find the papers do not contain a strange ghostly tale. They are just receipts and other boring things. Later in her stay, Catherine becomes convinced that the General has murdered his wife and is an evil villain, but when Henry discovers this he chides her, which is deeply embarrassing for her. The gothic novel is at best the cause for some silly fancies and at worst a thing that can cause enough silliness to possibly ruin a romance for Catherine. Catherine is incredibly naive and impressionable and the framing of Catherine’s dramatizations from her imagination clearly maintains a negative idea of gothic fiction. 

Northanger Abbey’s opinion of the gothic novel is one of amused mockery. I think it isn’t saying that one should absolutely never read a gothic novel, but it is definitely making fun of people who take the twists and turns of a gothic story and make it into self-made embarrassments. 

In terms of present day readership, there are several issues that might make Northanger Abbey difficult to read. References to Gothic literature (like The Monk) and social expectations of the time (such as courtship and gender roles) might disorient readers who have little context or knowledge on such materials and history. With that being said, the edition that we have read in class seems to offer some contextualization that addresses these issues.

The most notable obstacle is, to me, the density and drawn-out writing of Jane Austen. While I think that the format of the writing in Northanger Abbey is what would be expected of writers from her time period, it makes for wordy and drawn-out passages that can be confusing and difficult to get through, at times. Readers who have read some of Austen’s other works (or works form other authors of the same period) might not have much difficulty reading the story, but for the average reader, I would imagine that this is slightly off-putting. Today, we seem to use much less words to convey ourselves in writing, for the most part. This, along with the fact that Eighteenth century English used many words that are considered uncommon to us today, makes for complicated sentences that modern readers (especially American ones) might not easily get through, at least at first. An example of this is in Chapter XII of Volume II, on page 172, in which Catherine has just read the letter sent to her by Isabella. The first sentence after the letter is: “Such a strain of shallow artifice could not impose even upon Catherine.” Words like ‘artifice’ are used very little in modern American English, and words like ‘strain’ and ‘impose’, while not uncommon, are often used differently. The word choices, as well as the length of the sentence that conveys something quite simple, is a bit interesting. In modern American English, we would likely say something like, “Even Catherine could see through it,” or something of the sort.

With that being said, while I think that the average reader might find this frustrating, English majors or those with experience reading similar material might not have much issue, if at all.

I think the most challenging thing for 21st-century readers with this text is not only the language but the context, as we’ve discussed in class there are alot of things a reader would need to know before fully going into the novel. Such as the class structure, most people think that Catherine and Henry would be in different classes based on their wealth but rather they are in the same class but Henry is wealthier than Catherine, the main difference for them today would be that Catherine would be mid to lower middle class while Henry is upper middle class. This can be something that if you’ve never read or encountered this before you would simply read Catherine as being in a much lower class than she actually was, which might add a different level of class crossing to the novel that does not exist in the novel.

Also, the story might be a bit hard to grasp, as it revolves around Gothic literature and most people might compare the guilty pleasures-ness of that to maybe young adult novels. While they are similar it’s not quite what gothic novels were at the time and as stated in class they’d be more related to reality TV shows, which changes it drastically from the idea that they were young adult novels, while most YA novels are indeed looked down upon, they can still hold great stories and ideas. But our society looks at reality TV as trashy and you only watch it ironically, if you actually take pleasure in it you’re looked down upon. 

There is also the period, besides the class structure our society doesn’t really function in the same way anymore, people aren’t going to parties to find husbands, but rather they are going to have fun. Also, the idea that Catherine couldn’t approach people without being introduced first is rather bonkers, as it can leave her to be isolated if she were to know nobody. A modern-day reader would take the initiative and would approach people so they might find Catherine annoying or tedious because of this.

And, of course, the language would be the last big barrier. While the language is somewhat similar to ours, it can still at times be wordy and very lengthy which can be hard for a lot of people who don’t read British literature hard to digest. They might get overwhelmed and just put the book down. This is why most older forms of literature tend to be put on a high shelf, as the language gets more and more complicated the farther you go back, so while this is a simple parody novel of the Gothic genre, to a modern reader it’s a piece of classic literature and they can’t understand it. Which is a shame, as if you do the research or get an edition that can explain a lot of the cultural context this and other Austen novels are really enjoyable reads.

When we look for a new book to read, especially in this modern day, most readers tend to reach for something that would be a bit relatable to them. While we still enjoy the “classics” of literature there is a toughness to them. This is especially true for Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. From the decadent language to the romanticized ideas of how to find a spouse, the world that Catherine lives is simply not relatable to modern day readers. She is invited to a town where the only goal is to find her someone to marry, and of course after many ups and downs she ends up with the guy she actually likes. While the ending is fine, it’s the meat of the story that could potentially push modern readers away. For starters, people in the novel went to balls to interact with one another and just how Catherine was uncomfortable at her first ball is how the audience feels while reading it. It is also of note that in order for Catherine to have any fun at this ball she must be introduced by a third party to other people at the ball, however readers are not given that same luxury. It feels throughout most of the story as if readers were never invited to interact with the text, simply because there are very few places in which readers can relate. 

So what could change in the text? There is no assurance that every person will find a text relatable and that’s fine, but it is important to not have an audience feel alienated. Little changes such as a balance between characters. If we have rich members of society, like we see in Northanger Abbey it would be nice to also have some middle class and poor characters as well. Just simply adding characters from different social classes makes the text inclusive. While that is just a simple example, it is important for authors to understand that inclusivity is important even if it may not seem like it at the time. Though many of these books are still very popular we are hearing more and more that “classics” are hard to read and it may be because many “classics” tend to feel a bit alienating to certain groups and thus readers are becoming less and less interested in the stories beloved by the white people who could relate to these stories long ago. 

At first glance, Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey doesn’t seem to have a villain.  It is true that there is no obvious villain in the traditional sense; there is no murderer, monster, or evil schemer that thwarts Catherine every step of the way.  However, in a much more realistic manner, there are characters that care more about their interests than Catherine’s well-being.  The chief of these is John Thorpe, whose lies repeatedly cause Catherine trouble and ultimately almost prevent her from getting her happy ending with Henry Tilney, effectively making him the villain of Northanger Abbey.  Though he may not be the traditional evil found in Gothic novels, John Thorpe continually sets himself up against Catherine and her attempts to win the affections of Henry and Eleanor Tilney, situating him as the villain of her story.

One of the first occasions in which John Thorpe interferes with Catherine’s relationship with the Tilneys is when he prevents them from going on their walk after it rained.  Catherine had every intention of keeping her obligation to the Tilneys when Thorpe  invited her to go to Blaize Castle with him, her brother, and Isabella.  He lied saying that he had seen the Tilneys driving away in a phaeton, and when they saw them walking by, he ignored Catherine’s demands to stop, “laughed, smacked his whip, encouraged his horse, made odd noises, and drove on” (Austen, 71).  Not only does he lie to Catherine to get her to come, but once the lie is exposed, he refuses to give up on his plan.  He uses his power as the driver of the carriage to force Catherine to stay with him, even though she made it clear that she wanted to get out.  He doesn’t even show guilt about the situation, as he responds by laughing and making his horse go faster.  John Thorpe doesn’t respect Catherine’s will at all when it is contrary to what he wants.  He doesn’t care that her failing to uphold a promise to the Tilneys would make her look bad.  If the Tilneys weren’t understanding of the situation, they could have ended their relationship with Catherine right there, meaning that she would never have ended up with Henry.  John Thorpe’s lie could have potentially ruined everything she had been hoping for.  His own selfish desires matter more to him that Catherine’s reputation and happiness and his disregard of her desires hinder her from fulfilling them.

John Thorpe fails to learn from his first lie, and when Catherine reschedules her walk with the Tilneys, he goes behind her back to tell them she had remembered a prior engagement in order to get Catherine to come along on an outing to Clifton.  Catherine knows that “to have failed a second time in her engagement to Miss Tilney, to have retracted a promise voluntarily made only five minutes before, and on a false pretense too, must have been wrong” (Austen, 82).  John Thorpe either fails to recognize this, or, more likely, simply doesn’t care.  John Thorpe demonstrates that he cannot respect Catherine’s relationship with anyone outside his circle of companions.  Additionally, by lying to Miss Tilney without breathing a word of it to Catherine beforehand, he shows his lack of respect for Catherine herself.  He ignores her wants and obligations in order to get what he wants.  It doesn’t matter that he is asking her to reject her moral code; he wants to spend time with her, so he makes up a way for her to cancel her plans. Once again, this could have easily been interpreted by the Tilneys as a breach of the social contract, leading them to end their interactions with Catherine.  The fact that it was the second time Catherine appeared to have broken a promise only made it worse.  It would be understandable, even reasonable, for them to be offended by the repeated cancellations and to interpret it as a sign that Catherine did not care for them.  It is only through their good nature and Catherine’s efforts to fix the mess that Thorpe caused that the relationship is able to progress, leading to Catherine’s marriage to Henry.

There is a pair of lies told by John Thorpe that subjects Catherine to a great deal of indignity and directly harms her reputation with General Tilney.  Initially, when Thorpe believed he could get Catherine to marry him, he told exaggerated tales of her family’s wealth to General Tilney, convincing the latter of Catherine’s suitability for a relationship with his children.  Later, after Catherine’s rejection of his advances, he tells the General that he was mistaken and that the Morland family was “aiming at a style of life which their fortune could not warrant; seeking to better themselves with wealthy connections; a forward, bragging, scheming race” (Austen, 195).  It is this set of lies that leads General Tilney to kick Catherine out of Northanger Abbey with very little notice, not even sending a servant to escort her.  This puts her in a potentially dangerous situation at worse, and at best, a very shameful and humiliating one.  Additionally, it gives her a great deal of emotional distress and is the biggest threat to her relationship with the Tilneys.  After this incident, General Tilney wants nothing to do with her, and it takes a great deal time before he gives his consent for her and Henry’s marriage. Because John Thorpe wanted to aggrandize himself when he was with Catherine and was bitter when she didn’t return his feelings, Catherine very nearly lost two healthy relationships with people who genuinely cared about her.  His bruised ego came inches away from preventing her from finding a satisfactory place in life and the marriage with the man that she loves.

Catherine’s main goal throughout the story is to develop a friendship with Eleanor and a romantic relationship with Henry Tilney.  John Thorpe lies to Catherine and prevents her from keeping her promise of walking with the Tilney’s.  He goes behind her back to lie to Eleanor, once again putting Catherine in a bad position.  His lies to General Tilney about her family’s wealth turn him against her, jeopardizing her marriage with Henry.  John Thorpe’s continuous lies repeatedly work against Catherine’s wishes and comes close to ruining her happy ending, making him the villain of Northanger Abbey.

While I admit that there is no blatantly obvious, conventional “villain” in Northanger Abbey, there is definitely an antagonistic force to Catherine in the form of John Thorpe. John Thorpe shares many traits of rakes in that era of literature; he’s self centered, under-handed, a manipulator, and sees the main character as a sexual conquest that should only belong to him. It’s obvious through reading the text that Catherine wants nothing to do with him yet John Thorpe goes out of his way to manipulate the situation so Henry Tilney, Cathrine’s true love interest, is unavailable to her.

John’s manipulation of Catherine happens as soon as they meet in Chapter VII when he plies her with all types of bragging saying he has the best assets and qualities in the world in order to impress her. Later in Chapter XI, John lies to Catherine about Henry leaving town in order to spend more time with Catherine as well as giving Henry the impression that Cathrine has no interest in him. In chapter XIII Thorpe pulls a similar stunt but instead goes directly to Elenor and speaks on Catherine’s behalf, telling Elenor that she cannot accompany the Tilney’s on a walk. This shows his perceived level of possession over Catherine and is the force that actively keeps the protagonist away from her ultimate goal, Henry. It is also worth mentioning that although John Thorpe is not present for Volume II he still has sowed the seeds for mischief. In his anger over Catherine not submitting to his advances he sabotages her relationship with the Tilney’s, informing the patriarch that Catherine comes from poor family, which indeed results in her getting kicked out from the good graces of General Tilney.

Despite all his efforts at distortion however, Thorpe fails and Catherine and Henry are married after General Tilney discovers she is not as poor as John described. However, had she actually been impoverished this story would’ve ended a tragedy, with Catherine not getting to be with Henry all because of John Thorpe’s actions.

To summarize, Northanger Abbey does have a villain although John Thorpe does not fit all the criteria as he’s not outright evil just mischievous and selfish.