The Gothic Elements in "The Northanger Abbey"

This week in Irun Book Club we have analysed Jane Austen's "Northanger Abbey". As all her other novels it is a typical novel of manner and we can clearly see that there are elemens coming of age novel. Our main character, Catherine is 17 years old and she's quite inexperienced and innocent. All through the book she will see people are not always honest and not always to be trusted. However, it IS a Jane Austen story, so there is love and a happy end. But I don't think that can be considered a spoiler. 

This time a huge part of the story happens in Bath. We see Lower and Higer Rooms where we can observe the importance of the organised dances for young girls to be seen by men. Yes, women in those years had no other way of surviving than being maintained by a man and marriage was one of their main concerns as it defined all their future lives.

Please if you know the origin of this picture let me know in the comments

A typical dance dress. If you know the origin of this picture, let me know in the comments

An early version of the book was written under the title "Susan" (in 1798-99 according to Jane's sister, Cassandra). It was actually the first of Jane Austen's novels sold to a publisher (a publisher named Crosby bought it in 1803 for £10). He advertised it, but never decided to issue it. Jane Austen had the manuscript bought back more than ten years later, after several of her other novels had been published.

It is known she made some revisions, but it was only published after her death in 1817 by her brother Henry. The title "Northanger Abbey" was not chosen by Jane Austen: she referred to the book in her letter as "Miss Catherine".

The most famous parts from "Northanger Abbey" are:

- Henry Tilney's pseudo-gothic satire;

- Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland´s talk on marriage vs. dancing;

- the "Defense of the Novel";

- the walk to Beechen Cliff (Henry and Eleanor Tilney with Catherine Morland);

- quotes on the opposition between the "heroic" and the "natural" (by the way, in this novel Jane Austen uses the word "baseball" -- the first person, as far as is known, to use this word in print by almost fifty years.)

Several Gothic novels and authors are mentioned in the book. Isabella Thorpe gives Catherine a list of seven bookswhich were thought to be of Austen's own invention. In the 1920s the British writers Montague Summers and Michael Sadleir found out that they actually existed. 

The most significant allusion, however, is to Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, as it is the Gothic novel most frequently mentioned within this text. As a curiosity: Jane Austen sold the manuscript of Northanger Abbey to the same firm that published Radcliffe's novel in 1794.

This is first mentioned in Chapter Six, when Isabella and Catherine discuss the mystery figure in it. It is satirised later on during Catherin's stay at the abbey. It also serves to establish the difference between John Thorpe and Henry Tilney.

Have you read Northager Abbey? What were your impressions? 

If you want to read more about JAne Austen and about how women lived back then follow this link:

Jane Austen's Life

Para mis lectores españoles: ¿Habéis leído Jane Austen? ¿Cuál de sus novelas os gustó más? ¿Conocéis otras novelas que reflejan tan bien la vida de la gente en otros tiempos?