Book Thoughts: Important Letters in Northanger Abbey

Toward the end of Northanger Abbey Catherine receives two letters.  The first is from her brother.  James Moreland has more than one motivation in writing to his sister, Catherine, about his engagement with Isabella Thorpe.  His stated motive is that it is his duty to tell Catherine that he and Isabella are no longer engaged.  His implicit motives are to ensure Catherine does not blame him for this outcome and to gain relief for his wounded feelings by confiding in a loving sister.  His letter shows that not only was he a poor judge of character when he chose to become engaged to the gold-digging Isabella, he was also a poor judge of character in continuing the engagement.  Although he had reason to suspect Isabella not be in love with him he persisted in believing her lies to him…”I am ashamed to admit how long I bore with it”.  Moreland’s letter indicates he will continue to be a poor judge of character as he speaks of her brother John: his “honest heart would feel so much”.  He also indulges in dramatizing his self-pity by using phrases such as “never to see [Bath] again” and “She has made me miserable for ever!” and again in “I can never again expect to know such another woman”.  On a more positive note, his letter also shows affection for his sister and his desire for her to give her heart wisely and avoid the heartache he is feeling.

Catherine's second letter is from Isabella Thorpe.  The covertly stated motive in her letter to Catherine is to get James back.  She reveals a shallow character that is willing to lie as a means to achieve an end as she does not tell Catherine the engagement has been broken but indicates instead that she is afraid “a misunderstanding” has occurred.  This indicates she does not discern reality but is living in a fictionalized world of her creation.  Her vanity is shown in her talk of fashion and the fact that she is wearing purple, since it’s James’ favorite color, even though she looks awful in purple.  Like James, she uses absolute phrases such as “I particularly abhor” and “greatest coxcomb” and “amazingly disagreeable” to dramatize her disappointment over Frederick Tilney.  As always, she speaks of herself as she wants to be thought of, not as she really is, when she uses phrases such as, “I knew the fickle sex too well”.

Book Thoughts: Northanger Abbey: A Parody of a Gothic Novel

On the way to Northanger Abbey, Henry Tilney satirizes Catherine’s expectations by telling her a story in the Gothic tradition of what she finds at the Abbey.  Generally speaking, the plot details of a Gothic novel include mysterious circumstances, stormy weather, wind, darkness, nightly noises and a lack of sleep for the heroine, and these details are matched with Catherine’s arrival at the Abbey.  As she is first removing her coat in her room prior to dinner, she notices a chest in the corner.  Since her imagination is filled with mysterious circumstances, she wraps the chest in mystery and determines to open it.  She struggles, but with a burst of adrenalin opens the chest and finds…a blanket!  Eleanor enters Catherine’s room at this moment and remarks that the chest is a handy storage space.  Catherine feels shame for having given way to her imagination and resolves not to do so again.

However, by the time Catherine goes to bed the night has become stormy and windy.  She resolves to not give in to her imagination, so she does not build up her fire.  By candlelight she examines an ebony cabinet (like one Henry described in his story that afternoon).  She gives in to her imaginative ideas and decides to search the cabinet.  After struggling with locks she is thrilled to discover a roll of paper. However, her candle goes out and she is left in darkness. She lies in bed in the dark, hearing the door lock seem to move, perceiving the bed curtains to move on their own, and hearing moans in the hall which prevents her sleeping until about 3 in the morning.  When she wakes in daylight she eagerly reads through the roll of paper to discover…a washing bill!  Once again she feels humbled and remorseful and wants to act more sensibly.

The Gothic influence continues to act on Catherine, despite her resolution to not give way to her imagination, in her impressions of General Tilney.  The General is generally polite to Catherine but it seems Eleanor is afraid of making him impatient and he sometimes acts and speaks abruptly. She notices the General avoids his late wife’s favorite walks, her pictures, and her room.  Catherine decides he must be a cruel man who did not love his wife, and perhaps he caused or hastened her death.  She realizes her surmises are bold but continues to think this way.   After General Tilney twice prevents her from going into his wife’s room she determines to probe its secrets.  She sneaks to the room when everyone else is occupied, thinking she will find a dark, dungeon-room and some kind of journal telling of the General’s cruelty.  What she finds is…a normal bedroom!  Realizing the enormity of her erroneous thinking, she slips away, only to be found by Henry Tilney who perceives what she has been thinking.  He admonishes her gently and reasonably.  Catherine again feels remorse, shame,misery, and that her “eyes have been opened to her own folly”.  

Her fiction reading is not in line with her reality and she decides that Gothic novels must not be a comparison for English people, although she might be able to draw comparisons in other countries.  It is interesting to note that she continues to believe the General is not “perfectly amiable” and further events in the story prove her to be correct this time.

Book Thoughts: Male Characters is Northanger Abbey

Henry Tilney is characterized by his perception, his good temper, his use of wit and word-usage, and a somewhat cynical viewpoint.   His perception is shown through his ability to quickly discern the difference between Catherine’s actual good qualities and Isabella’s often talked-of good qualities.  Because he is both intelligent and perceptive he is able to see both meanings in a conversation between his sister, Eleanor, and Catherine when Eleanor puts a definite, although mistaken, political meaning to Catherine’s comment about a book.  In the same conversation he shows he is well-read and speaks easily on several subjects.  He also likes to instruct and while Catherine cannot participate in a conversation about drawing, Austen breaks into the narrative to tell us that there is nothing men like so well as a woman who knows nothing.  That way the man can instruct her.  :)  Also, in chapter 22 Tilney tells Catherine that a “teachablenss of disposition in a young lady is a great thing”. His good-temper is shown in his affectionate treatment of his sister and in his gentle admonition to Catherine when she imagines his father, General Tilney, was abusive to his late wife.  An example of his fascination with word-usage can be found on page 194 when Catherine comments that Isabella had promised faithfully to write to her and Tilney wittily talks about the puzzlement of a faithful promise.  Tilney is classified as a gentleman, as exemplified by his ability to dance, and while dancing to converse to the interest of his partner, by his being well-read, and by the fact that he does not brag about himself.  Although Tilney is shown in a good light overall, Austen may be satirizing a man’s susceptibility  to being looked-up to by a woman (his initial attraction to Catherine) and his tendency to try to form Catherine’s (and Eleanor’s) ideas and opinions with his instruction.

I first characterized Catherine’s brother, James Moreland, as being rather like Catherine, good-tempered and affectionate and showing a caring attitude toward his sister.  This is shown in his treatment of his sister and her value of his character.  As the story progresses, however, James is shown repeatedly to be a poor judge of character.  First, his best friend is John Thorpe.  James realized John talks a lot without always making sense, but he does not ever seem to realize that John lies, is greedy, and uses people.  Even toward the end of the story he refers to John in a letter as having “a good, honest heart”.  He also chooses to become engaged to Isabella, not seeing her for the self-centered, grasping person she is, even when she makes it obvious she wants a man with more money.  When he and Isabella part ways he dramatizes the pain of the break-up in a letter to his sister in which he uses phrases like “miserable for ever!"  I believe Austen is satirizing young men who believe they know more than they really do and think of themselves more than others under a guise of affectionate, mild-manners.

John Thorpe shines in his role as a royal bore.  Austen does not give him any good qualities, although he has a very high opinion of himself.  He is characterized by bragging, swearing in front of a lady (Catherine), lying, talking all the time without saying anything worth listening to, not being well-read, and an aggressive attitude.  His lack of reading is humorously shown in an early conversation with Catherine when he tells her he would never read Udolpho because he would only read a novel by Mrs. Radcliffe.  When he takes Catherine for a drive he brags constantly about his horses, shows a lack of respect for her by swearing numerous times in front of her, and bores her with his constant talk that one minute takes one opinion and the next minute swerves to another.  He speaks disrespectfully both about his family and to his family, as when he says he did not come to Bath to take his sister for a drive.  He lies twice to General Tilney, first stating that Catherine’s family is rich (a form of bragging since he wants to marry Catherine) and the second time by stating that Catherine’s family is poor.  In John Thorpe’s character Austen is satirizing men who think they are amazing just because they are male, even though they do not possess intelligence, sense, or amiability.

Book Thoughts: Female Stereotypes in Northanger Abbey

 I deeply enjoy Austen’s characterization in her novels.  Of the three women -  Mrs. Thorpe, Mrs. Allen, and Isabella Thorpe - we know the least about Mrs. Thorpe.  However, we know enough to see that Austen is poking fun at the stereotypical gossip of her day (and ours too, for that matter).  Close behind her main love of gossip are her pride in her children (and herself) and her concern with fashion.  We can see Austen’s use of satire as she converses with Mrs. Allen and with her daughter, Isabella.  Large portions of her conversation deals with the current gossip in Bath. When she talks with Mrs. Allen she also often talks of her children, and particularly of Isabella.  This shows a lack of consideration for feelings other than her own since Mrs. Allen does not have children and so Mrs. Thorpe has a kind of one-upmanship in this area.  In chapter four we are told that both Mrs. Allen and Mrs.Thorpe talk to each without hearing a great deal of what the other one says. She believes Isabella is the most beautiful girl around and encourages her to value wealth in a suitor.  She and Mrs. Allen frequently discuss items of fashion, another of Mrs. Thorpe’s interests, although she doesn’t have as much money to spend on clothes as Mrs. Allen. 

While we read more often of Mrs. Allen she does not make a huge impression on the reader.  I think of her as a vague character.  She does not ever express strong emotion; and she is the most animated when she is talking about clothes.  Mrs. Allen’s character is stereotypically fashion-oriented.  She is a kind person, in a vague sort of way, but nearly the only subject she shows animation about is related to fashion and shopping.  We see Austen’s use of satire several times through the character of Mrs. Allen.  One example is in chapter 3 when Mrs. Allen is talking to Henry Tilney of how easy it is to shop in Bath – an item of extreme importance to her.  She states, “One can step outdoors and get a thing in five minutes.”  To her, this is one of the main attractions of Bath and she continues to talk of fabric and fashion to Henry at the dance, even though this seems an odd subject to pursue with a young man she has just met.  However, it does not seem odd to Mrs. Allen because her world revolves around fashion, and like Mrs. Thorpe, tends to only focus on what she is interested in herself.  When Mrs. Thorpe talks to her about the Thorpe children Mrs. Allen responds by talking about clothes.  Again, in chapter 12 we see her ability to focus only on clothes.  Catherine is apologizing to Henry Tilney over missing their appointed walk and appeals to Mrs. Allen with much emotion to corroborate her statement.  Mrs. Allen’s reply is, “My dear, you tumble my gown."

Isabella Thorpe’s character is stereotypical of a totally self-absorbed, shallow person out to get all she can…a gold-digger.  In her many conversations with Catherine she does not give any original opinions, but rather re-states what others have said.  For instance, when they are talking about books in chapter 6, although Isabella can rattle off a list of titles she has written down, she cannot tell Catherine anything about them except that Miss Andrews has read them.  In a nice moment of satire, Austen has Isabella play with enjoyment the game Commerce, a game with stakes (representing her love of money) and with bartering (representing her flirting with several men).  Isabella displays her shallowness in her treatment of Catherine in chapter 13 when Isabella, James and John plan to drive to Clifton and Catherine declines to go with them because of a previous engagement.  Although Catherine is firm in her inclination to do what she perceives is right, Isabella treats her with coldness for not doing whatever Isabella wants.  We also see shallowness of character in her treatment of John Thorpe when she discovers he has less money than she thought.  She immediately begins flirting with the elder brother of Henry Tilney and eventually sends James Thorpe away.  Her conversation focuses mainly on herself and the local gossip.  Isabella’s character satirizes the young women of that time who are only interested in marrying for money and security and do not love anyone other than themselves.

Book Thoughts: Heroines in Northanger Abbey and Austen's Satire

Austen gives a smile to her reader right at the beginning of Northanger Abbey when she brings a sense of reality to the definition of a heroine as portrayed by many authors of Gothic novels in her time.  She begins by first giving a wonderful tongue-in-cheek description of what heroic characteristics Catherine is lacking (in the Gothic sense).  

A heroine, as satirized by Austen in chapter one, first must have parents who are poor, handsome, lacking in sense and in a healthful constitution, be short-tempered, and given to such tactics as locking up their daughters.  The heroine herself must not be plain-looking nor given to mischievousness.  As a child she should enjoy feeding birds and watering roses.  A heroine is able to learn intuitively and be accomplished in music and drawing.  

As a child, Catherine shows none of the characteristics of such a heroine.  Not only does she show little aptitude and no application for studying music or drawing, she is only interested in reading story books that require little reflection.   She plays at cricket, rides horses, is not overly concerned with cleanliness, and is mischievous.   Catherine’s father is characterized as respectable, plain, and possessed with an independent living.  By being told he did not lock up his daughters we are led to believe he is kind and the rest of the book bears this out.  Her mother is characterized as having good sense, a good temper, and a good constitution. She has a large family and enjoys them without imposing an iron will.  

Interspersed in this description of Catherine’s lack of heroic qualities Austen is able to give us a glimpse of what she considers to be true qualities of a heroine, as opposed to the description she used in her satirical description of a heroine.  We are told Catherine has a good heart, a good temper, is not quarrelsome or stubborn, and shows kindness to others.   As Catherine’s character develops throughout the story we also see she is honest and unaffected – further examples of good qualities for a heroine.  

Between the ages of 15 and 17 she shows more promise in becoming a heroine.  She takes more care about her appearance and curls her hair and enjoys finery.  She enlarges the scope of her reading to include such authors as Gray, Thompson, Pope, and Shakespeare (although Austen continues to use satire in the fact that Catherine either remembers what is has read incorrectly or out of context.  I think this is a great touch of humor.).  She develops an appreciation for music, although she still does not play herself.  Her continued defects in her development as a heroine are in the areas of drawing and in not attracting the attention of any potential lovers. 

Catherine’s development as a heroine is largely left to own inclination as her mother, although a caring woman, is cumbered with caring for several younger children and cannot devote much time to Catherine’s education.  Her parents do have a limited influence on her development: her father and mother both give her some lessons and she has access to a music teacher for the short time she wants to study.  For the most part, however, Catherine is left to her own devices and her greatest outside influences are books (although often read without great understanding).  

Book Thoughts: Austen's Characters Read!

One of the questions my profressor, Dr. Kendrick, asked during our Jane Austen class began like this..."The 18th century saw a controversy regarding the reading of novels, especially by women  (and it's interesting that the number of female novelists increased exponentially during this time as well).  Novels were considered by many to be "low" forms of entertainment that enticed women to abandon virtue.  However, Zlotnick believes that this novel ". . . offer[s] an alternative vision, in which wise and judicious female reading emerges as a possible antidote to female victimization"." 

Here are some of my thoughts on Austen's take of the reading habits of women:

The reading habits of Catherine, Isabella, and Eleanor support Zlotnick’s support of the idea that wise female reading may be an antidote to female victimization.  In the case of Catherine Moreland her reading of Gothic novels allows her to read of heroines that have more spirit than the men in the novels, how to navigate in her social world, how to act for herself, and to become an amateur detective in the Tilney household.  She has for the most part avoided reading history (written in this time by male quthors with a view toward repressing females) and so her thinking has been guided more by thoughts of successful feminism than depressing male suppression.  She becomes a voluntary spy through imaginative thinking and her ability to think for herself and to take action on those thoughts (as when she opens the chest in her bedroom).  She believes she has the right to make her own choices, which intrigues Henry.  

Isabella’s reading also focuses on novels.  In her case, she learns to parrot back the words of what she believes eligible bachelors want a marriageable girl to be (the heroine), even though those words are for the most part the opposite of her true characteristics.  She believes that wealth is her ticket to freedom, at least to freedom of choice.  Like the world of commerce around her she tries to trade one man, James Thorpe, for another, Frederick Tilney, because he has greater wealth.  However, she does not realize that the men around her do not value or appreciate a woman who applies market values to them.  She believes that she not only has the right to make choices but that she has the right to trade her choices.  She is not successful in the marriage market and loses both men and her chances for marriage for the time being.

Eleanor mainly reads history books by male authors and her thoughts are thus shaped by a sense of women’s lack of value.  She feels immobilized by her reading.  She is less proactive than Catherine or Isabella and is content to let the men in her world – at this time her father and her brother – make choices for her.  Although she is well-educated she does not have the spirit to act on her education or to imagine a future different than what women before her have held.   This is where we see a great difference between the novel-reading of Catherine (often written by females) and the historical-reading (mostly written by males) of Eleanor.  She does not believe she can make her own choices.   Eleanor is successful in the marriage market only because her suitor becomes socially and financially acceptable, not because she has played a role in making any choices.  

Book Thoughts: Austen's Northanger Abbey: Her first novel, yet the last published. Why?

Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen's first novel (outside of her juvenile works) was the last  Austen book published.  Why?  The answers give some important clues to the deeper meaning in the book.

According to Claire Grogan in an introduction to Northanger Abbey there are two separate delays to the publishing of the book.  The first delay, and the longest, was occasioned by the publisher and lasted from the original purchase date of 1803 until Austen regained rights to her novel in 1816.  For some reason, the publisher purchased the novel and then refused to print it. The second delay was due to Austen herself delaying the publication.  It is interesting to note that this second delay is of a shorter duration (Northanger Abbey was published in 1817) only because her death allowed her brother to publish the novel posthumously; Austen herself expressed ambiguity about ever publishing Northanger Abbey.

It is pointed out that the publisher, Crosby, may have had several reasons for delaying publication.  Critics agree that Austen’s opinions of issues such as individual rights, the questionable intellectual faculties  of women, and the merging of some parts of the middle class with the upper class, while pertinent to the late 1700s, would not have met with as much public sympathy in the early 1800s.  Critic Park Honan also cites conflict of interest as a possible reason for delay of publication.  Since Crosby also published The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (a novel in the Gothic tradition) and Austen satirizes the Gothic novel in her own book, there may well have been a hesitancy to publish Northanger Abbey in the same time period.  Another critic, Margaret Kirkham, suggests Austen’s support of feminist views as a reason to delay publication. 

Austen also appeared reluctant to publish her novel.  She was aware that her opinions regarding the feminist movement, as expressed in the book, were no longer accepted in 1816 (although theses thoughts may have been more acceptable in the late 1700s when she was writing the novel).  This was due in large part to the fact that English anti-revolutionary feeling opposed such thinking. Women authors were not generally approved and general opinion was even lower toward female authors who wrote novels because novel reading was thought to increase women's sentimentality.  Social, economic, and political thought had shifted in the years between the novel’s writing and its potential publication, and while Austen’s views had not necessarily changed she must have realized these views might face opposition.

There were many changes that occurred in English Society between the original manuscript completion of Northanger Abbey and its eventual publication in 1818. The revolution in France greatly impacted the English and led to more acts of repression and censorship, of which a specific example is censorship toward female authors of novels.  During this time the public displayed an increasing lack of sympathy for women as far as allowing them intellectual or economic freedom or political opinions. Austen plainly states her support of female authors of novels and of novels themselves in chapter five of Northanger Abbey when she breaks off from describing the relationship between Catherine and Louisa to urge female authors to stand together against unfair opposition.  She also defends novels as giving more pleasure to the public than other forms of literature and further states that some novels have “genius, wit and taste to recommend them.”  Realizing such ideas would not be received kindly by much of her reading audience may have caused Austen to postpone publishing Northanger Abbey.

Life Story: 12.21.2012...No, the world didn't end but boy, was it an eventful day!

The Mayan calendar ended on 12/21/12.  Lots of people thought the world would end.  I don't buy into any of that; I prefer to leave those big ticket items in God's hands and focus on living my life.  But for a brief time on this day I wondered if my particular world would end.  I'll start backward with the end of the story...which is, bottom line...I don't know exactly what happened.  (Gotta love that ending!)  But I am pretty sure the end of the story - minus the drama - is that someone was driving around the BCC parking lot while displaying a gun.  I don't believe this person entered any buildings.  No shots were fired.  Thankfully, our stellar public safety department, along with the police department, responded promptly and effectively and saved the day.

It all started with an announcement over all the PA systems across campus.  This PA system is only used in emergencies and I very rarely hear it used, so it was rather unnerving just to hear a voice over the loudspeakers.  We were told to lock all doors to our buildings and offices and go to a safe place where we could not be seen.  I thought it must be a drill.  It was payday and I am responsible for all the checks that don't go direct deposit - a few hundred or so - so I gathered up paychecks and locked the front door.  Then I noticed our Vice-President of Academics - who is actually our acting President since Dr. Vietti is retiring - was trying to open the door.  So I let her in and said, "I think you ought to go to the vault with me and the paychecks even though this probably is a drill."  Then the PA system came on again and said "This is not a drill.  Lock your doors and get out of sight immediately."  Not comforting. 

So several of us were locked in the HR office in our nice, safe vault.  The only thing that worried me a bit was that my office had the paychecks, the HR Director and the acting President, so someone with a grudge could conceivably be coming our way.  We were a little nervous, but overall we were just fine.  Well, OK, I had a problem.  I had to go to the bathroom.  One of my co-workers had a text from her friend who is married to a deputy, "Do just what they tell you. This is real."  Once again, not comforting!

After an eternity of waiting (made worse because I had to use the restroom so badly) one of our public safety officers came to check on us.  That is the good side of having the paychecks, HR Director, and President hiding out with me!  I asked him if anyone was hurt and he said no.  I begged for permission to go across the hall to the bathroom and he said he had to escort me.  Picture this...me running across the hall, being guarded by a security officer in a bullet proof vest with his arms extended diagonally to cover me.  What a hoot!!  No, he did not enter the restroom with me; he stopped at the door.   

They finally called the all clear and sent everyone home.  Everyone but HR.  I still had the paychecks.  Now I had to get them all ready to mail since people could not come pick them up.  By the time I was ready to go the campus was pretty deserted.  I admit to feeling uneasy as I had to carry thousands of dollars worth of paychecks across the parking lot to my car and I didn't know if some lunatic might appear.  But my morbid imaginings did not come true and the checks are safely in the mail.  

God is good.  I felt His peace and knew He was in control no matter what.  It was comforting to know friends and family were praying.  I'm so thankful no one was hurt.  Instead, I envision this being THE big story we tell in the office as each winter break approaches...Remember the year we spent the last afternoon before break in the vault?

This last day of work before winter break, while not the end of the world the Mayan calendar predicted, made me a little tired.  :)