Evelina and Northanger Abbey both belong in the 18th-century literature syllabus because they are good examples of how two different vehicles used to tell a story—a “history,” told in epistolary form, and a witty, tongue-in-cheek narrative—can completely transform the tone of a piece. On the surface, these are two novels about young women growing up in Europe during the18th century. They are both told with humor, they both offer great insight into the mind of their observant female leads, and they both give the reader a glimpse into the manners and customs of the time. On a deeper level, however, the differences between the two texts lie in the manner in which the story is told—and this comparison point is where the reader truly gleans a richer, fuller view of females coming-of-age in the 18th century.
At face value, Evelina is not necessarily a comedy, considering both males and females often seek to take advantage of her. One often feels that Evelina truly is an “innocent angel, and as artless as purity itself” (Burney 15), wandering in the midst of London’s wolves. Evelina’s life is not her own, and the letters from Lady Howard, Villars, and others concerned, including her own father, are a testament to this fact. The reader will notice that those in authority are essentially Evelina’s “puppet masters.” The humorous moments of the story, therefore, lie in her perceptions, which are concise and hilarious in their honesty. Other characters are often painted in ludicrous terms. For instance, she notes that Madame Duval “…endeavoured to adjust her head dress, but she could not at all please herself….[Evelina] should have thought it impossible for a woman at her time in life to be so very difficult in regard to dress. What [Madam...
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...e and high society, but shift the focus from a first-person perspective (Evelina) to the more omniscient third-person narrator’s voice (Northanger Abbey), and there are many comparison points to be made between the two. They enrich each other, offering two perspectives on a very similar world—one character sees reality, as it is—the humor, the difficulties, and danger of it. The other creates her own reality, allowing her imagination to cloud what may actually be truth. Combined, they offer a rich glimpse into the life of an 18th century girl becoming an 18th century woman.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. Lexington, KY: SoHo, 2010. Print.
Burney, Fanny. Evelina, Or, The History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World: Authoritative Text, Contexts and Contemporary Reactions, Criticism. Ed. Stewart J. Cooke. New York: W.W. Norton &, 1998. Print.
‘Rebecca’ and ‘The Bloody Chamber’ convey the gothic theme of isolation by employing the embodiment of dominant male characters. The femme fatal persona in ‘Rebecca’ creates a stigma about how Mrs de Winter should act. The Fairy-tale form causes development of female power and causes a sense of resilience throughout the collection of short stories. The use of controversial issues of feminine empowerment exercises the idea that women should have more power within heterosexual relationships. There are several Gothic conventions within both texts, for example setting is vital because the authors use immense, reclusive places like Manderly and the Castles causing physical entrapment for the feminine roles. Violent characteristics from Maxim and
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.
Ferguson, Mary Anne. "My Antonia in Women's Studies: Pioneer Women and Men-- The Myth and the Reality." Rosowski's Approaches to Teaching 95-100.
Catharine Maria Sedgewick’s heroine and title character of Hope Leslie does not convey the expected behaviors of a woman living in 17th century Puritan society. Hope Leslie is not a passive young woman that relies on the Bible for all advice and guidance. She does not stay quiet if something is on her mind. She refuses to allow the innocent to receive persecution for the wrong reasons. Hope is assertive, aggressive, courageous, bold, and quite outspoken. The characteristics that she portrays are atypical to those portrayed by 17th century women. Instead, Hope’s attitude and behavior more closely resemble that of a female from the 21st century living in an era not meant for her.
In the 18th century, reading novels served as a pass time and a diversion from household chores for the women. Though formal female education is not developed, the female characters are seen having a keen interest in books, something that was earlier frowned upon for the sentimental content of books might be destructive to societal values. At the time, books were meant to teach and reflect upon the socially acceptable ideas of romance, courtship, and marriage. We find Miss Wharton asking for books to read from her friend Mrs. Lucy Sumner, “Send me some new books; not such, however, as will require much attention. Let them be plays or novels, or anything else that will amuse and extort a smile.” (Foster, 192) Mrs. Sumner sends her novels which she considers “chaste and of a lighter reading” (Foster, 196). We can thus construe that books and novels in The Coquette though meant for reading pleasure, also play form part of the female
Eliza Fenwick’s novel Secresy portrays the image of an innocent female that is kept locked up and out of the social world; the problems that arise when this innocent female attempts to break out of this social location reveals the major oppression of the female society in the late 18th century. Females are kept in their own social sphere through oppression by males, and when secluded females enter into male spheres they cannot endure this change and end up severely damaged or dead. Eliza Fenwick’s Secresy shows the seclusion, oppression, escape, and death of Sibella, the innocent female.
In eighteenth century novels, a common means of discussing the role of women in society is through the characterization of two good sisters. The heroine of such a novel is a pure, kind young woman who also has a streak of spunkiness. Her sister may be more good and kind, but she is more submissive and reserved. I would like to look at these sisters (and their mothers) in Ann Radcliffe’s A Sicilian Romance , and The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole.
Ferguson, Mary Anne. "My Antonia in Women's Studies: Pioneer Women and Men-- The Myth and the Reality." Rosowski's Approaches to Teaching 95-100.
In conclusion to this essay, having examined these 19th century gothic texts, it is fair to say that normative gender behaviour and sexuality pervades them. This element gives the reader a deep insight into the culture context of the time in which these stories are situated. It enables the reader to delve into the darker sides of humanity at that time, that they would not have been able to do otherwise.
...English history and the English way of life is re-created. The temperament of each age is conveyed in a series of vignettes: the boy Orlando kneeling with an ewer of rose-water before the aged Queen Elizabeth, the Great Frost of James I's reign [where he wakes up not remembering a thing about it], Pope unforgivably witty at a fashionable tea-party”(page 131, Blackstone). As Orlando went through each faze of her life, she constantly tried to measure up to the ways of each society she entered. Every place she tried to fit in made her feel as if she just did not belong. However, when Orlando became a woman she did not lose the sense of her identity, she retained it and instead of being disappointed that every time she tried to conform she continued to press on until she was finally at a place in her life where she was content to be an independent person, living in her own world. She realized that even though she matured over the years, she remained true to herself despite the conditions, and restrictions society tried to place her in.
...ction of Women." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams et al. 7th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000. 1156-1165.
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.
Gorham, Deborah. A. A. The Victorian Girl and the Feminine Ideal. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1982. Martineau, Harriet.
“Girls wear jeans and cut their hair short and wear shirts and boots because it is okay to be a boy; for a girl it is like promotion. But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading, according to you, because secretly you believe that being a girl is degrading” (McEwan 55-56). Throughout the history of literature women have been viewed as inferior to men, but as time has progressed the idealistic views of how women perceive themselves has changed. In earlier literature women took the role of being the “housewife” or the household caretaker for the family while the men provided for the family. Women were hardly mentioned in the workforce and always held a spot under their husband’s wing. Women were viewed as a calm and caring character in many stories, poems, and novels in the early time period of literature. During the early time period of literature, women who opposed the common role were often times put to shame or viewed as rebels. As literature progresses through the decades and centuries, very little, but noticeable change begins to appear in perspective to the common role of women. Women were more often seen as a main character in a story setting as the literary period advanced. Around the nineteenth century women were beginning to break away from the social norms of society. Society had created a subservient role for women, which did not allow women to stand up for what they believe in. As the role of women in literature evolves, so does their views on the workforce environment and their own independence. Throughout the history of the world, British, and American literature, women have evolved to become more independent, self-reliant, and have learned to emphasize their self-worth.
In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, the idea of patriarchy ruled the many societies all over the world. Particularly in Britain, its “overarching patriarchal model” (Marsh) had “reserved power and privilege for men” (Marsh). Also during this time period feminist literature began to arise and was invaded by, “the complex social, ethical, and economic roots of sexual politics… as testimony to gender bias and the double standard” (“Sexual Politics and Feminist Literature”). In Jane Austen’s writing, readers have been aware of her constant themes of female independence and gender equality. However, many have criticized the author for the fact that many of her “individualistic” female characters have ended up