The Gothic Heroine In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

1646 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Women in English literature

The Gothic Heroine in Northanger Abbey Jane Austen wrote Northanger Abbey as a satire and when the reader turns every page, it is clear that Jane Austen was making fun of the society she was living in. It’s the satire of the Gothic novel that was surrounding her at the time. What Northanger Abbey does so well in terms of satire is subvert the system of Western patriarchy by the gothic genre and questions the structure of women and nature. Like many of the tales in England of the heroine, Northanger Abbey tells the story of the daughter, who heroic acts are modesty and submission. This essay will focus on what gothic heroine meant at the time, while analyzing why Jane Austen was making fun of the meaning. The term “gothic” was a term that …show more content…

The words used make the situation horrifying. This of course is in Catherine’s mind, she wants to make the situations terrifying because she was influenced by the novels that she read. As Robert Miles wrote in “Horrid Shadows: the Gothic in Northanger Abbey”, “Northanger Abbey does not work with the conventions of the Gothic novel so much as it warns against the dangers of Gothic reading, in the manner of parody, the tricks of the genre are turned against itself. (133). Miles can very well be describing what Austen is poking fun at. Catherine is doing “gothic reading” though it really is not a gothic novel, only in the mind of a girl who wants to be a gothic heroine. If we can look at another gothic element, that is the women in distress. We all know that novels in the eighteenth century have a woman in distress. The fainting, the sobbing and the terrified. Catherine on the other hand is not a women in distress in reality, but plays one in her mind. She is terrified by circumstances and that adds fuel to her imagination. “Catherine for a few moments, was motionless in horror. It was done completely, not a remnant of light in the wick could give hope to the rekindling of breath. Darkness impenetrable and immovable filled the room. A violent gust of wind, rising with sudden fury, added fresh horror to the moment. Catherine trembled from head to foot...the manuscript fell from her hand” (155). One can see the fear that resonates in her mind as if she needed help at the moment. She falls prey to the mystery. Her mind is overwhelmed by her Gothic

Show More
Related

  • Northanger Abbey Quotes

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ways women are presented in Northanger Abbey are through the characters of Catherine Morland, Isabella Thorpe, Eleanor Tilney, Mrs Allen, and the mothers of the Morland and Thorpe family, who are the main female characters within this novel. I will be seeing how they are presented through their personalities, character analysis, and the development of the character though out the novel. I will be finding and deciphering scenes, conversations and character description and backing up with quotes to show how Austen has presented women in her novel Northanger Abbey.

    Read More

  • The Gothic Tradition in Stoker's Dracula and Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray

    2369 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gothic Literature was a natural progression from romanticism, which had existed in the 18th Century. Initially, such a ‘unique’ style of literature was met with a somewhat mixed response; although it was greeted with enthusiasm from members of the public, literary critics were much more dubious and sceptical.

    Read More

  • How does Mary Shelley use Gothic Conventions in Frankenstein?

    2545 Words  | 6 Pages

    Due to the conventions included in the novel, this is a perfect example of a gothic novel. The novel evokes in the audience fear and anticipation of the novels plot. The 19th century audience would have been overwhelmed with terror whilst reading the novel as the atmosphere creates suspense and the pace of the novel is fast.

    Read More

  • Austen's Northanger Abbey and Hogg's Confessions of a Justified Sinner

    2431 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ssible engagement with the text, it is also an invited one, because a great deal of the value of the text lies in presenting an unsettling and subtle variation upon a known theme or situation. Mastery of the literary genre depends upon a clear knowledge not only of recurrent themes and styles of the form (which exist to be perpetuated in continually evolving manner, much more so than in other genres), but of human nature and the psychological triggers which create in readers a spirit of curiosity. One might think that such a device was inherent to any form of writing of any quality, and whilst this is true, there is a much more marked difference between formulaic uncanny and gothic fiction than that of other genres.

    Read More

  • Supernatural and Natural Imagery in Jane Eyre

    2129 Words  | 5 Pages

    From the beginning of the novel, the main character, Jane encounters the supernatural. Charlotte Bronte uses both supernatural and gothic themes to enhance situations for the reader and to develop the characters. In particular natural imageries have been used to convey a human connection with the natural world and human nature (Franklin, 1995). Eyre portrays the intrinsic struggle between supernatural and the effects of nature. Branflinger and Thesing (2002) argue that Bronte used Gothic and the supernatural to explore and portray the darkest alleys of her own psyche which Bronte was deeply disturbed by (p309).

    Read More

  • Gothic Theme in Chapter 5 of Frankenstein

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    The term ‘Gothic’ conjures a range of possible meanings, definitions and associations. It explicitly denotes certain historical and cultural phenomena. Gothicism was part of the Romantic Movement that started in the eighteenth century and lasted about three decades into the nineteenth century. For this essay, the definition of Gothic that is applicable is: An 18th century literary style characterized by gloom and the supernatural. In the Gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a wide range of issues are explored. Frankenstein represents an entirely new vision of the female Gothic, along with many other traditional themes such as religion, science, colonialism and myth.

    Read More

  • Comparing Satire in Canterbury Tales, Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    Characters in Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock are necessary tools in establishing satire within the stories.  Austen uses a range of different character types in order to highlight the absurdity of society.  For example, Elizabeth Bennet differs greatly from her other sisters and young ladies of Hertfordshire because h...

    Read More

  • Sympathetic Imagination in Northanger Abbey

    3053 Words  | 7 Pages

    I believe that the exploration of this fundamental conundrum is at the core of Northanger Abbey, and that this should be so dismisses the claims of those who believe that the lessons Catherine learns in the Gothic section of the novel are thematically most important.[3] I maintain that Northanger Abbey is not merely a curiosity, a burlesque of the Gothic style, a remnant which looks back to the parodic style of much of the juvenilia....

    Read More

  • Catherine Morland In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    Catherine Morland is the main character of the book, Northanger Abbey. In the beginning of the story, Austen describes Morland as a plain, young girl who holds no particularly extravagant features. As a child, Catherine contrasted strongly against the average girl; she enjoyed boyish activities and despised learning. For example, Jane Austen states that “she was moreover noisy and wild, hated confinement and cleanliness, and loved nothing so well in the world as rolling down the green slope at the back of the house,” (Austen 8). However, as Catherine grew older, she began to attain the qualities of a well-mannered woman. Jane Austen describes her development by stating that “her love of dirt gave way to an inclination for finery, and she grew

    Read More

  • Social Symbolism In Polidori's Vampire: Lord Ruthven

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    I offer by way of introduction to the Gothic literary world an extract taken from Ann. B Tracy’s book The Gothic Novel 1790-1830: Plot Summaries and Index Motifs:

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Fall Of The House Of Usher And House Taken Over

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,

    Read More

  • A Rose For Emily Death Decay Essay

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term gothic literature refers to, “a writing about the dark, irrational elements of experience and of the mind. It explores the extreme mental states characterized by guilt, panic, fear, anxiety, obsession, paranoia, and claustrophobia, while frequently also attempting to assuage [satisfy] them” (Otto). In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, there are many forms of gothic elements prevalent throughout the story.

    Read More

  • Discuss the role of friendship in Northanger Abbey.

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    Abbey are crucial for developing and maturing Catherine’s character. Bibliography Austen, Jane. [1818] 1990 Northanger Abbey, ed. by John Davie, with an introduction by Terry Castle, Oxford World’s Classics, Oxford: Oxford University Press Regan, Stephen. Ed. 2001.

    Read More

  • How Does Jane Austen Use Satire In Northanger Abbey

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey has been praised by countless critics as the perfect balance between satire and realism. The novel, a light-hearted comedy full of humorous situations and entertaining wit, has enticed countless readers with an unprecedented writing style which combines elements of gothic and satirical literature. Although the novel has captivated readers over the years, the story has received its fair share of criticism. Tara Ghoshal Wallace, for example, claims that the novel’s storyline was inconsistent due to Austen’s use of satire, and Carole Gerster accuses Austen of disrupting the novel’s narration to integrate her own voice.

    Read More

  • Finding the Balance of Love and Freedom in Jane Eyre

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although written during both the Victorian and Gothic time period, Jane Eyre draws upon many revolutionary influences that ultimately enabled it to become one of the most successful books of all time. Jane Eyre is merely a hybrid of a Victorian and Gothic novel, infusing a share of dark allusions with overzealous romanticism. The primitive cultures of the Victorian period reflect high ethical standards, an extreme respect for family life, and devotional qualities to God, all in which the novel portrays. Yet, to merely label Jane Eyre as a Victorian novel would be misleading. While the characteristics of a Gothic no...

    Read More

More about The Gothic Heroine In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

Open Document