Equality In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological development of the protagonist, Catherine Morland. This essay will analyse the language and narrative techniques of the extract, and discuss how this excerpt suggests vicissitudes in Catherine’s personal perspectives and relationships. In addition, it will discuss the ‘domestic gothic’ and abuse ubiquitous in ordinary situations. Furthermore, it will argue how Austen’s rhetorical techniques work to encourage reader interest as well as exercising perception when distinguishing between appearance and reality. Finally, it will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the extract within the novel’s wider themes.

Much to Catherine’s pleasure, she has a walk scheduled with her sweetheart, Henry Tilney, and her dearest friend, Eleanor Tilney. However, on the morning of the walk, it rains. Austen uses the rain to foreshadow the upcoming unpleasant events. In the afternoon, the rain subsides leaving a muddy mess. Unexpectedly, Isabella Thorpe, John Thorpe, and James Morland arrive at her house. They request that Catherine go along on their trip to neighboring cites. However, Catherine feels obligated to stay in the house and await Henry Tilney and Eleanor Tilney. In his typical self-centered manner, John Thorpe declares that he saw Tilney engaging in other activities, “I saw him at that moment turn up the Lansdown Road, - driving a smart-looking girl” (Austen 53). Although perplexed as to why the Tilneys did not send word that their engagement should be broken, she consents to the proposed carriage ride. While riding out of her neighborhood, Catherine spots Eleanor and Henry Tilney walking towards her house. Catherine, exclaims, “Pray, pray stop, Mr. Thorpe. - I cannot go on. - I will not go on. - I must go back to Miss Tilney.” (Austen 54). John Thorpe disregarding Catherine’s plea, “laughed, smacked his whip, encouraged his horse, made odd noises, and drove on” (Austen 54). During this scene, Austen magnifies the villainy of John Thorpe by whisking away with innocent Catherine.

Jane Austen is well known as a novelist for her satirical representation of female characters in late Georgian society. During this period, novel writing and reading was still a controversial topic, and as such was incorporated in her book Northanger Abbey (1817), which has at its core a young female protagonist obsessed with novels. We can clearly interpret Northanger Abbey as Austen’s satirical response to the social conventions decrying novel reading, as she uses an intrusive narrator and more subtle supplementary techniques to comment on and satirize the debate surrounding novels.

Though at first glance, Emma appears to be a generic romantic novel about virtue and ladyhood, Austen actually challenges what the meaning of “ladyhood” is to the reader. We view Emma’s follies, trials, and triumphs through the eyes of the omnipotent narrator who first describes Emma as a stereotypical, wealthy young lady who is “handsome, clever…with…a happy disposition” (1). Through the use of irony, Austen employs a series of situations in which Emma, a “lady” of high standing within her community, challenges conventional thinking of what it means to be a young woman in the early nineteenth century, particularly her ideas concerning marriage and

Main Point: How the ____ of the moment implied in Austen’s women’s equality point of view

Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey establishes the inner feeling of a woman based on her own personal experience which provides a vivid glance into her perspective. Correspondingly, it reinstates Gothic novels as an reflection marginalized by the experiences of women living in the upper class. For contemporary modern day, Northanger Abbey functions as a warning, depicting the danger of amorous and sexual exploitation from the opportunistic characters within a social environment. These dangers are a realistic theme even in today's society marking potential threat for women. Mostly importantly, it serves as a device that's depicts the social separation between the companionship of woman and the inhuman acknowledgement of women as objects, which fosters the necessarily development for both men and

Fitting with the common theme between the two novels of the judgment of others, each heroine falls victim to a horrible misjudgment of the character of another. After discovering that the engagement between her brother and her friend Isabella has been broken, Catherine finds she has grossly misjudged her friend’s character, and thinks, “She was ashamed of Isabella, ashamed of ever having loved her” (Northanger 150). Elizabeth, on the other hand, finds her attachment the Wickham wholly inappropriate after receiving her letter from Mr. Darcy. After digesting the shocking contents of the letter, Elizabeth “grew absolutely ashamed of herself.—Of neither Darcy nor Wickham could she think, without feeling that she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd” (Pride 156). And indeed, as suggested by Elizabeth’s mention of Darcy, this misjudgment goes on to affect each girl’s attachment to her future husband.

Soon after her own arrival in Bath, Catherine is followed by her brother James and Isabella’s brother John Thorpe. At the initial meeting with the boys, Catherine is mistaken on two different points, still being ignorant in her perceptions of other people. Although slightly thrown off by John’s manners, Catherine is unable to formulate her own negative opinion of him, too affected by the opinions of Isabella and James, and “her judgment was further brought off by Isabella’s assuring her…that John thought her the most charming girl in the world” (Austen 48). For Catherine, it is easier and more natural to accept the opinions of someone like Isabella, a mentor figure. Also, in the same scene, Catherine makes the assumption that her brother James has journeyed “so far on purpose to see me” (49). Catherine hastily jumps to this false conclusion, not having the experience to detect James’ continuous questions and compliments of Isabella as a sign of his true motives for coming to town: to visit the “prettiest girl in Bath” (49).

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a novel that features vibrant character development but the biggest development is that which occurs in Catherine Morland. Catherine’s character nearly develops in all components of her being and she is able to evolve from the unorthodox “heroine” that she is initially described as. In the novel, Catherine starts out as an incredibly naïve and inexperienced girl who confuses all facets of the real world as the plot in a Gothic novel. Catherine develops as a character through her social interactions with those around her as it helps her gain experience with how to correctly perceive the world. With her newly gained experience of her surroundings, Catherine develops and is able to see the real world through a social lens rather than her own subjective lens or that of a Gothic lens.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice examines and critiques a society built upon gender roles. Austen does this by examining the obstacles women experienced in the Regency Period. Austen expresses how women were controlled, and objectified by men through their need to get married to a man. Additionally, the novel ridicules how women who could not afford to live without men were shadowed by their partner. This commentary is seen through the portrayal of the Bennet sisters. The females of the family are forced to marry because they do not inherit any wealth. The family is forced to comply with the same boundaries Austen was governed by. Therefore, Austen focuses on how the Bennet sisters overcome a society that suppresses them. This allows the reader to comprehend the strength, perseverance, determination, and assertiveness of the women in this time. Overall, Jane Austen addresses gender issues throughout the story. This is seen in the progressive image of Elizabeth, as she combats the inequality women experience. Although it was not common for women to criticize the patriarchy, the overall depiction of females is progressive. Elizabeth represents Austen’s feminist views, and the depiction of women in the novel is seen through her feminist image as she deals with Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy.

Jane Austen was a Georgian era author who was best known for her novels that commented on social issues and class, and Northanger Abbey is no exception. Austen’s social commentary is apparent in this novel’s plot, as the reader follows a seventeen-year-old protagonist, Catherine Morland, as she matures and forms intimate relationships with fellow characters in an England town called Bath. Marriage between characters in the novel is heavily based on wealth, and because of England’s unstable economy at the time, marrying into wealth meant maintaining a high social class and economic stability for the characters. The importance of economic prosperity and social rank heavily influenced marriage in 19th century England, and this idea bourgeoisie classism and marrying for wealth is contradicted by Austen in her novel, Northanger Abbey.

Catherine is so wrapped up in her fictional world of reading that she becomes ignorant of her real life issues with Henry Tilney, for whom she has been love-struck since their introduction. She entertains herself with wild imaginings about his life and family. Catherine's imaginings foreshadow her eager desire for mischief as Austen's story develops. Catherine is endowed with a vivid imagination, but she has not yet learned to use it in concert with her perception, especially in understanding the interactions between people.

In Emma Jane Austen exposes the limitations of the role of women in her society. Examine Austen’s presentation of what is called in the novel, women’s usual occupations of eye, and hand, and mind. Emma – Role of Woman In Emma Jane Austen exposes the limitations of the role of women in her society.

From my point of view, Jane Austen should be seen as a ‘feminist’ writer. As she wrote in one of her novel Persuasion, she considers that ‘Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything’ (Anne Elliot, in Jane Austen’s Persuasion). Such feminist ideas are expressed in many of her literary works. In her another novel Northanger Abbey, there are various issues discussed, which include not only marriage, social criticism and Gothic, but also feminism as well. The essay is to discuss Jane Austen and her feminist thoughts by analyzing Northanger Abbey.

Jane Austen’s ideas differed with the patriarchal system of her times. She elicited feminist concepts to contradict of the patriarchal structure; Emma’s first determined not to marry. When Harriet once asked why Emma never thought about marriage, she replied that most women were married because of insufficiently social ranking or money. She certainly had all of these privileges, so she won’t