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”.