The Importance Of Gothicism In Jane Austen's Novel Northanger Abbey

Introduction Boundaries are important as they indicate a limit a person not supposed to cross, it important that people respect boundaries as once boundaries are crossed, it can affect the relationship between two people or society as a whole. Crossing boundaries come with consequences. In regards to this assignment we will be looking at consequences of challenging boundaries in the gothic novels Wuthering heights and Frankenstein. The social and cultural background of the genre gothic novel According to Mullan, (2014), gothic fiction began as a sophisticated joke Horace Walpole first applied the word gothic to a novel in the subtitle – ‘a gothic story’- of the Castle of Otranto, published in 1764. According to Tiffin (2011) the historical context of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century is important to the gothic form, as

This article analyzes the way Austen portrays women in her novels. Kruger mentions that Jane Austen’s work is often deprived by the

The Castle of Otranto was written in 1764, by Horace Walpole. This novel is a Gothic novel, and I will be writing an essay about this novel to show, and explain how Gothic it is. I will be picking a specific character to explain and compare to another book to show how both are Gothic, but in their own way. This essay will seek and unfold the differences of Manfred in Otranto, and General Tilney in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. When Northanger Abbey was written is

Austen’s representation of reading epitomises the excesses of the imagination exhibited by sentimental readers which effectively led to their disconnection from reality. Austen’s employment of the gothic reflects Catherine’s transition from the excesses of her gothic fantasies to reality, which fundamentally enables Catherine to develop independent judgement through her exploration of human experience and to reject her projection of idealist imaginations influenced by her gothic readings (move up). Although Austen satirizes the excesses of sensibility through the characterisation of Catherine’s absorption of the gothic, Austen does not completely ridicule or dismiss the truth behind the gothic or the imagination. Richardson (2005:399) explains

Austen used techniques such as comedic and satirical irony, to break the mould of the expectations of the novel genre. Austen could simply have written in the same gothic sensationalist style, or perhaps a sentimental novel, but she chose not to. Instead, she parodies and undercuts them, with subtle causticness, and ridicule. Austen’s priority when writing Northanger Abbey was to defend the novel as a genre, whilst also addressing the concept of ‘reading’ itself. Essentially, by writing in the style of the gothic, she emphasised the ordinariness of the domestic gothic and, patriarchal domestic violence, abuse, and the general oppression of women that was present in everyday life (p.59).

The gothic literary movement is a part of the larger Romantic Movement. Gothic literature shares many of the traits of romanticism, such as the emphasis on emotions and the imagination. Gothic literature goes beyond the melancholy evident in most romantic works, however, and enters into the areas of horror and decay, becoming preoccupied with death. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is a powerful example of gothic fiction, whereas James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans serves as the romantic predecessor, illustrating the differences and the similarities between romantic and gothic literature.

     The term Gothic refers to a genre that came about in the late eighteenth century. It can be a type of story, clothing, or music nowadays. In this paper it will refer to a style of literature. A very good example of this type of literature is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is a sense of foreboding throughout the whole novel, which is one of the basic necessities of the Gothic. This theme of the Gothic has different characteristics that all fit into the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster and make this one of the first horror stories every told.

Edgar Allan Poe, renowned as the foremost master of the short-story form of writing, chiefly tales of the mysterious and macabre, has established his short stories as leading proponents of “Gothic” literature. Although the term “Gothic” originally referred only to literature set in the Gothic (or medieval) period, its meaning has since been extended to include a particular style of writing. In order for literature to be “Gothic,” it must fulfill some specific requirements. Firstly, it must set a tone that is dark, somber, and foreboding. Next, throughout the development of the story, the events that occur must be strange, melodramatic, or often sinister. Poe’s short stories are

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.

The function of the innocent heroine in gothic literature is, primarily, to follow her curiosity into the deepest, darkest corners of an appropriate gothic setting, uncover some awful secret contained therein, and do a lot of running around in her nightgown to be saved at the appropriate moment by a strong, capable suitor. In both Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, and The Turn of the Screw by Henry James this trope is challenged, with both books presenting us with a slightly different version of the gothic heroine. Northanger Abbey gives us Catherine Morland, with her own knowledge of the gothic genre through the books she has read herself, and a propensity for common sense over hysteria. This foreknowledge and self-awareness creates a very different heroine than the typical gothic damsel in distress, and allows for Jane Austen to explore and parody the gothic genre instead of adhering to its every rule. The Turn of the Screw gives us the governess, who appears at first to follow the gothic heroine trope; young and pure of heart and motive, but who must also fill the role of both innocent heroine and protective hero. As the story progresses, doubt begins to fall on the governess’ sanity and motives. This essay will compare and contrast the treatment of these two gothic heroines, explore the different ways the characters challenge the innocent heroine trope, and discuss the effect this has on the

Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, is acknowledged by many as the first gothic novel. It was the first of it’s kind and many of the conventions used by Walpole, which put it in a literary genre of it’s own, were continued by authors such as Ann Radcliffe and Matthew Lewis. Many of these defining characteristics can be seen within the very first few pages of the text and for the purposes of this essay, to identify some of these conventions used and the relevance of this text to modernity I shall focus this analysis on the passage between pages twenty-four and twenty-six from the Oxford World’s Classics edition.

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.

Gothic literature includes elements of style that is usually portrayed in tales and deals with horror, despair, the grotesque, and mysteries. In the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, there are many elements of gothic literature that is found throughout the book. The term gothic is very broad in literature, and gothic can mean many different things from characteristics of people, feelings and reactions of a specific setting, mood, actions that happen being people, and so much more. All of this thrived in the 19th century. Gothic is categorized by an emphasis on the dark, gloomy, and mysterious. Ideas such as magic, hidden passages, wind, ghosts, and other supernatural elements, love, etc were all elements in the Gothic movement during the 19th century. Specifically, the descriptions of the settings, both outside and inside, in the novel, the actions of the main protagonists in the novel, and the love between Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights all add on to this idea of a gothic literature or tradition.

The following piece of writing will explore factors of a gothic novel. It will exclusively do so in regards of the two novels Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein. These very famous novels will be looked at in a very in depth piece of writing. Each novels main themes and their background will be presented. The morality and the gothic novel with specific reference to Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights will be assessed. The second aspect will be the social and cultural of the genre, the genre being the gothic novel. Thirdly, the monster as punishment and the punishment of the monster in both novels. The final aspect that will be analysed is the constructed nature of boundaries in both texts.

The paper will analyze the literary skills in the novel. The literary styles will be analyzed in the context of their significance in influencing the plot and characters. The literary analysis will include review of the major literature styles the author uses and the characteristics of characters in regards to adapting the requirements of the specific literature styles. Additionally, the review will also include a perspective of the importance of style used by the author.