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 The text can feel dense at times, with foreign jargon, hard to understand wording, and out of date pop culture references.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.

After reading Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, I believe that the novel is more likely to encourage its audience to read Gothic fiction rather than discouraging them from doing so. By having a main heroine who enjoys reading Gothic fiction along with how often it comes up in the storyline Austen, even if she didn’t intend to do so, is influencing her readers to take part in the action and see what they’re missing out on.

Having a heroine as a person who actively enjoys Gothic fiction, or just reading in general will affect the readers by influencing them to do the same. Seeing, or in this case reading about someone, who is designed to be likeable, do an activity can make people desire to do the same thing and be like the person they admire. This can be seen throughout popular culture for as long as you can look back. Famous celebrities will start trends by wearing a clothing item and then all of the sudden everyone and their mother is sporting that look. This can be seen with Kim Kardashian’s biker shorts and even Farrah Fawcett’s hairstyle. An example of a trend that also came from a book is the “okay? okay” phenomenon that took the world by storm in late 2013 early 2014 after John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars grew in fame and found its way onto the bookshelves of girls ranging from seventh to twelfth grade. I don’t think that I saw one binder or instagram post that didn’t adorn the phrase at that time. People have a desire to be like those they admire therefore, by having Cathrine, both a heroine and an avid reader of Gothic fiction in Northanger Abbey readers are influenced to do the same.

Despite one of the characters saying that, “novels are all so full of nonsense and stuff,” or the fact that Northanger Abbey is considered as more of a mockery of Gothic fiction, the amount of times it’s novels are mentioned in the book is enough publicity for the genre (page 40). An instance where the genre comes up in the book are when Catherine admits to Isabella “reading (The Mysteries of Udolpho) ever since (she) woke” and then the pair come up with a list of other Gothic novels they can read once she is done with Udolpho in  Volume I, Chapter V. Another time (out of the many) occurs later on in Volume II, Chapter II when Catherine is invited to go to the Tilney’s home, Northanger Abbey and she gets excited not only about being with the Tilneys, but also because this will be her first time seeing an abbey like the ones she reads about in her Gothic novels. Having this repetition throughout the novel about doing a certain thing, like reading a certain genre gets the idea into people’s heads. It makes them think that everyone knows about and has read it before, and if they haven’t done so they can feel left out and desire to look into and read some of what they’re missing out on.

Northanger Abbey might have been written to mock the Gothic fiction genre. However, due to the fact that it has a heroine who enjoys reading Gothic fiction along with how often it comes up in the storyline, I believe that the novel is more likely to encourage its audience to read Gothic fiction rather than discouraging them from doing so.

Jen Carter

The satire, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, who complexified the dynamics of Catherine Morland’s relationships through her daily life. It’s reasonable that with all her interactions with characters there’s one character that stirs the pot. Catherine is read as a sheltered person and didn’t know much about the world nor experience the social world. Then, here comes an opposing force that just manifest’s into the antagonist of Catherine’s dramatic life, John Thorpe. He is the reason she pushes to be a Heroine, not listen to a man but prove him wrong.

The surrounding characters interacting with Cathrine are Isabella Thorpe, Henry Tilney, General Tilney, Mrs. Thorpe, and infamous John Thorpe.  Of course, every character has their issue they tackle: Isabella lives for gossip and drama. Henry Tilney shows a well-mannered presence that is overshadowed with his cynical views. General Tilney is a grouchy greedy person who dictates his tone depending on your wealth. Mrs. Thorpe has an ego and an eye for fashion. Last but certainly not least, John Thorpe, who’s so malicious and arrogantly loud through Catherine’s point of view subjugating him into the villain role. 

John Thorpe’s nature can be deemed as ordinary or has a decent personality unlike General Tilney but that’s who he is complex with money-hungry issues. John’s overall approach is an overwhelming ego that is compelled to include his horses in conventional settings. Without forgetting, his need to lie compulsively to the point it has no reason. Why? 

 John Thorpe is as common as every white entitled rich man. John, brother of Isabella, a friend of Catherine’s who he seduces the first time they meet.  He tries flirting with her but Catherine found his approach uncomfortable or unsettling. Even the General chimes into this absurdity with deciding to win Catherine over with his toxic objectification (compliments). Which she subverts to, which in turn cancels John Thorpe out from being the same immoral, sexist, and entitled “jackass” they are to women. John Thorpe’s character trouble-maker with an exaggeration that is unrelenting on his ridiculous attempts to be with Catherine. John even goes to the lengths to abducting her and abandoning her. Yet, what makes it so hard for Catherine (or just oblivious to social cues or a man’s body language ) to see how John Thorpe could be a menace, it’s the least you’d expect. Nonetheless, his oversaturated ego is equalized through his project appearance as a well-mannered man.  

The villainy in his actions is what his ego and patriarchal behavior that defeated unknowing Catherine into a turmoil within, breaking away from stereotypes and deciding who she wants to be/with; a heroine.

 

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.    

Savannah Tristan

2/23/20

In “Northanger Abbey” by Jane Austen we read about a main character named Catherine. In this story Catherine falls victim to John Thorpe. In this story Isabella befriends Catherine and introduces her to the high society of Bath. This is the only kindness she see’s from Isabella, but although Isabella was not very kind she was not necessarily the villian. The villian does not jump out in this story, there is a heroine which is Catherine but she falls victim to the manipulation of John Thorpe.

 We don’t see John Thorpe’s true colors until nearly the end of the novel. At first John Thorpe told General Tilney that Catherine was rich and came from a very wealthy family but he only said this because he thought that Catherine loved him. Once he found out that she did not actually love him or want to marry him he told General Tilney that Catherine actually was not wealthy, but could be considered poor. This is why the General sends Catherine back home. In chapter XIII The General has Eleanor explain to Catherine that she made arrangments for her to leave by Seven AM. This is one reason I believe John Thorpe could be considered as a villain, his actions forced others to mistreat Catherine. 

Throughout the novel it is seen that John isn’t the greatest guy, he comes off as arrogant and unkind he even makes a snide comment to Catherine about books which she did not like, I believe he did this to appear “attractive” to Catherine but I think he turned her off instead. Throughout the novel I believe John tries to sabotage Henry and Catherine’s relationship. By going to general Tilney John is trying to mess up a relationship and make Catherine and her family look bad, all because he was not Catherines romantic love interest.

John Thorpe could be considered the Villian in this novel because although there was not a battle, or an ongoing conflict against him and Catherine does not mean there isn’t a villian in this story. John Thorpe specifically went out of his way to manipulate Catherine and General Tilney just because Catherine did not accept his advances. In the end the villian, John Thorpe lost this “battle” because Catherine and Henry ended up getting married, and not only did they get married but they recieved permission from both Catherine’s parents and General Tilney. With their families blessing they can live happily ever after now that the villian has gone away.  

 

I believe the villain in Northanger Abbey to be John Thorpe. However, his true nature as the villain does not fully come to light until the end of the book. Much of the beginning of the book simply makes John seems like an unpleasant person. It is not until the moments when John faces any form of rejection from Catherine that he begins to show his true villainous colors.

            In Volume One, John is presented as a very arrogant and narrow-minded man, especially when John and Catherine first meet. Catherine instantly makes note of John’s poor manners and is greatly put off by his view on books. Not only does he view novels as being “full of nonsense and stuff” (40) he also makes a fool of himself by talking down on Udolpho, a novel written by Mrs. Radcliffe. Here, John instantly contradicting himself by saying he only reads Mrs. Radcliffe’s novels. Although these initial impressions do not paint John in a particularly likable light, they do not make him seem villainous.

            I believe that it is not until page 81 that John Thorpe’s villainous personality starts to show. John, his sister, and Catherine’s brother plan a last-minute activity. All three assume that Catherine can go and all three become very upset when Catherine informs them of her previous engagements with the Tinleys. John takes matters into his own hands and makes an excuse for Catherine’s absence to Miss Tinley, all without the okay to do so from Catherine. By doing this, John shows that he only cares about his well-being and his own interests. Soon after this John leaves Bath, during which time Catherine pursues the man she is truly interested in, Henry Tinley. Upon his return to bath, John learns that Catherine has no interest in him and grows to be even more disagreeable. He does not have to see Catherine, he sends his sister Isabella to Catherine in order to speak with her about his disapproval.

            After this I assumed that John’s role within the story was finished and that he could be forgotten about. In the end it is revealed that this is not the case. Even in John’s absence, he works and almost succeeds in manipulating General Tinley and ruining Catherine’s happiness through securing Henry as her husband. Catherine learns that when John thought he had a chance with Catherine, he spoke very favorable of her and her family to General Tinley. This caused General Tinley to take interest in Catherine. However, this interest quickly fades and gets Catherine immediately banished after Thorpe “hastened to contradict all that he had said before to the advantage of the Morlands” (194).

            I believe that this final action is what sets John Thorpe apart from the rest of the characters as the villain. He deliberately tries to ruin the life of one woman after being rejected by her and learning that his sister no longer has need for the Morland family. He has no worry for how it might affect Catherine or those in her life.

            Jane Austen’s novel, “Northanger Abbey” is a comedic gothic novel and a coming of age story. The novel focuses mostly on Catherine Morland and her integration into high society. Catherine is referred by the narrator as the heroine of the story. This is because the traditional gothic novels usually tell the story of a hero or heroine fighting or dealing with a villain. However, if Catherine is the heroine of this story who is the villain that Catherine is dealing with?

Catherine interacts and builds relationships with many different characters throughout the story. The main characters that she interacts the most with are Mrs. Allen, Isabella Thorpe, John Thorpe, James Morland, Henry Tilney, and Eleanor Tilney. Of these six characters, in my opinion, the villain or villains of “Northanger Abbey” are Isabella Thorpe and John Thorpe. I think that Isabella and her brother John are the villains because of the way the two of them act and manipulate Catherine.

In my opinion, Isabella Thorpe is the main villain. Now, Isabella isn’t mean or malicious. Isabella is more manipulative, conceited, self-absorbed and dishonest. Isabella spends a lot of time manipulating situations to get what she wants. Isabella constantly keeps manipulating her relationship with Catherine, so Isabella can marry Catherine’s brother James. However, even after Isabella manages to get her engagement to James Morland, she continues to manipulate Catherine. Isabella does this by convincing Catherine to change her plans to hang out with her in different towns and public places they are not supposed to be in. I think that Isabella most of the time is only manipulating Catherine for her own gain. I don’t think she is help John get with Catherine. It is just a happy accident that what Isabella wants just happens to help John get what he wants. That being said, where does John fit into this novel.

In my opinion, John Thorpe is also a villain in this novel. John is very much doing a lot of the same manipulative work that Isabella is doing. However, John has his own villainous motives. John is arrogant, aggressive, possessive, manipulative and a liar. He is also a man who is very boastful. John like Isabella manipulates Catherine to change her plans and go to public places they aren’t supposed to be at. However, John has another reason for manipulating Catherine is because he wants Catherine to stay away from other men, but mostly Henry Tilney. John gives me the vibe that he might have the nerve to kidnap Catherine and lock her in a basement. It is very obvious that John wants Catherine for himself.

In conclusion, who is the actual villain of Jane Austen’s novel “Northanger Abbey”? In my opinion, there are two villains in this novel. Those two villains are Isabella Thorpe and John Thorpe. They both have ulterior motives for manipulating Catherine the way they do. However, I feel that Isabella may be more a villain than James only because Isabella knows exactly what she wants and has a plan. James doesn’t seem to have a plan for winning over Catherine. John just seems to push Catherine in the direction he wants not caring what Catherine wants.

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey has two villains in the forms of the Thorpe siblings. John and Isabella Thorpe constantly manipulate Catherine, and other characters, for their own benefit. John and Isabella both use Catherine and toy with her as if she’s their property. John continuously lies about Catherine’s plans to isolate her from the Tilneys. Although Catherine is not interested in him for marriage, John assumes the position of a possessive suitor. When she is out of his reach, he does what he can to ruin her prospective marriage to Henry. 

Isabella becomes friends with Catherine due to her relation to her brother, who Isabella has decided she wants to marry. She becomes close to Catherine to secure her position with James, then uses Catherine’s connections to the Tilneys to try to better her future prospects. 

Isabella also meddles in the Tilney family by latching herself onto Henry’s brother, Fredrick. She switches her attention from James Morland to Fredrick because she sees more of financial benefit for herself as Henry notices, “I am afraid she will be very constant, unless a baronet should come her way…” (193) Isabella again tries to manipulate Catherine into helping her get back into James’ life when Fredrick leaves her. Finally, Catherine realizes that Isabella is an unhealthy person to have in her life and cuts communication. 

Although General Tilney is certainly presented as the villain, at least in the eyes of Catherine during her stay at Northanger, he is not the novel’s true villain. The one instance where the General does actually appear villainous, when he sends Catherine away from Northanger unexpectantly, is actually caused by John Thorpe. John, jealous of Catherine’s attention of Henry Tilney, lies about the financial status of the Morlands. This causes the General to react in such a harsh manner, which is not excused but understood to be caused by Thorpe. Isabella causes James to suffer, then when Fredrick leaves her she tries to get back in James’ life through Catherine.
    Both Thorpe siblings represent the negative aspects of the society that Catherine is being introduced to. Isabella is supposed to be a proper lady that helps Catherine navigate the waters of English society. However, she manipulates Catherine and puts her into compromising positions, such as riding in an open carriage with only James. John’s controlling nature and drunkard behavior is contrary to how a gentleman is supposed to treat a prospective wife. 

Many of the characters’ problems, especially Catherine’s, are stemmed from the Thorpe siblings, making them the villains of Northanger Abbey.

Austen, Jane. “Chapter XXV.” Northanger Abbey. Penguin Books, 2003, pp. 193.

The first thing any modern reader will recognize is the prose. Austen writes like much of her contemporaries, which means long, verbose sentences that weigh heavier in aesthetics than purpose. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing or that it reduces the quality of the novel–it’s just an element of the era–but for a modern reader, it makes it near impossible to understand.

For the most part, modern readers have an incredibly short attention span. Movies and novels today focus on short, impactful moments in their depictions, which progresses the plots quickly. We’ve been inundated with this short attention span, and reading any Austen novel–or really any romantic novel–requires an incredible amount of our under-developed patience.

For example, let’s look at the first sentence of chapter II:

“In addition to what has been already said of Catherine Morland’s personal and mental endowments, when about to be launched into all the difficulties and dangers of a six weeks’ residence in Bath, it may be stated, for the readers more certain information, lest the following pages should otherwise fail of giving any idea of what her character is meant to be; that her heart was affectionate, her disposition cheerful and open, without conceit or affectation of any kind–her manners just removed from the awkwardness and shyness of a girl; her person pleasing, and, when in good looks, pretty–and her mind about as ignorant and uniformed as the female mind at seventeen usually is.”

There is no reason to write like this by today’s expectations. Instead, a modern reader would expect this: “Catherine Morland was affectionate, cheerfully open, and without conceit or affectation. She was not awkward nor shy, and many found her pleasing and pretty if she wished. However, despite all of this, she was as ignorant as a 17 year old girl would be.”

This says the same thing. As language has modernized, it made us less keen to what Romantic authors are saying in their writing. For me, I had to Sparknote everything because the reading was too convoluted to grasp; my mind would continually wander because it took a minute of reading only to be rewarded with information that should’ve taken 20 seconds to reveal. This novel’s diction and syntax are outdated and have not held up well–so I think. As well, it’s a parody, which means the humor that was apparent to her audience when she wrote it is not apparent to us now. It takes research to understand the humor fully, which takes away from the humor in general. And because this parody is of gothic literature from her time, it requires we know all the books she mentions before we could fully comprehend the parody.

Northanger Abbey, a gothic novel by Jane Austen, explores the life of Catherine and her development into the role of a young woman. At her age, she is meant to find a husband and begin to engage in wifely duties. During her time at the balls and other social events, we (as readers) are introduced to these prospective young men. Among these are Henry Tilney and John Thorpe, both of which Catherine is introduced to as friends-of-the-family. John Thorpe, arguably, is the true villain of this story. 

John Thorpe is the brother of Isabella, who Catherine becomes friends with in the novel. Isabella is much more promiscuous than Catherine and faces her own relationship issues as the plot continues. Isabella introduces John and Catherine and they become partners for the ball. This is where the first “villainous” action occurs. Once arriving, John seemingly abandons Catherine at the ball; Austen writes, “She [Catherine] could not help being vexed at the non-appearance of Mr. [John] Thorpe…” (p. 43) 

After the ball, the group takes a carriage ride. Unfortunately for Catherine, she discovers John’s very self centered attitude, “…all the rest of his conversation, or rather talk, began and ended with himself and his own concerns.” (p. 54) With this, Catherine is becoming less and less interested in this man and his potential courtship. From then on, Catherine attempts to avoid John Thorpe in any way possible. Her interest turns to Henry Tilney, instead. 

The most manipulative action we see Mr. John Thorpe do, however, is in the 13^th section of the story. Here, we see John, without Catherine’s permission, tell the Tilneys that she is unable to spend her time with them. His admittance is here, “I have, upon my soul. Left her this moment. Told her you had sent me to say, that having just recollected a prior engagement of going to Clifton with us to-morrow, you could not have the pleasure of walking with her till Tuesday.” (p. 81). In this situation, John Thorpe wasn’t thrilled with Catherine visiting the Tilneys, so he changed her plans for her. 

Over the course of the story, John Thorpe is presented as a manipulative, arrogant, egotistical man who looks out for himself, and others second. Though there is no super “clear” villain, the closest we find in Austen’s novel would be this man.