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.
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