Catherine is also pursued by villains –John Thorpe prevents her time and time again from seeing Henry and Eleanor Tilney. In response to Catherine telling him to stop, Thorpe menacingly ‘lashed his horse into a brisker trot’.
Catherine also has a real mysterious horror story towards the end of the book; General Tilney’s sudden dismissal – without explanation, ‘Explanation and apology are equally impossible’. Catherine has to make a long journey alone, something a heroine would find truly distressing, but for Catherine the journey had ‘no terrors for her’, thus this parodies the convention of a heroine, because Catherine’s behaviour is much more judicious and sensible.
Catherine has little experience or perception unlike a typical heroine and her naivety is shown throughout the novel, often humorously. Towards the end she begins to become a better judge of character, and feels of Isabella; ‘ashamed of having ever loved her“.
In Northanger Abbey we see a transition from Catherine’s girlish naivety ‘Northanger Abbey! These were thrilling words, and wound up Catherine's feelings to the highest point of ecstasy.’ to a more mature realistic woman, which is in stark contrast of the hypersensitive trembling fragile heroines of Samuel Richardson’s novels Pamela and Clarissa. In Pamela, Pamela writes various letters to her parents, relating her moral dilemmas: ‘I was forced to be very reserved to him; for the poor gentleman has no guard, no caution at all’ and often with copious smatterings of self pity; ‘if ever you see this miserable scribble, all bathed and blotted with my tears’.
The other character eligible for perhaps being a typical heroine is Isabella Thorpe. Firstly, her name is typical of Gothic novels – such as Isabella in The Castle of Otranto. Isabella has a ‘fashionable air of her figure and dress’. Isabella however, only shows outwardly characteristics of a typical heroine, she is revealed at the end of the novel to be a harsh, calculating materialistic woman, ‘strain of shallow artifice’. Austen juxtaposes her ugly nature with her beautiful outward self. A true Gothic heroine, such as Emily in The Mysteries of Udolpho has inward beauty too, ‘it was the varied expression of her countenance, as conversation awakened the nice emotions of her mind’.
Eleanor Tilney could also be described as a typical Gothic heroine; she had a ‘good figure a pretty face and a very agreeable countenance’. Her father, General Tilney, incorporates aspects of a tyrannical father, and her mother is dead, ‘I am sure Mrs. Tilney is dead’. This was another typical attribute associated with the Gothic heroine.
Another important aspect of Gothic literature is the hero figure. In Northanger Abbey the hero is Henry Tilney, who is described typically like a hero: ‘pleasantry in his manner’, ‘charming young man’. This is similar to Valancourt in The Mysteries of Udolpho, who has ‘manly frankness, simplicity, and keen susceptibility’. His appearance: ‘dark eyes and rather dark eyes’ was also typical of Gothic heroes. Valancourt also has typical physical qualities, e.g. the ‘manly grace of his figure’.
Henry also behaves in a typically heroic fashion when he rescues Catherine from the villains, even though the matters are entirely trivial, thus in a sense although reflecting gothic conventions, also parodying them by the triviality of the events. He ‘saves’ her from the tyranny of his father, ‘Henry had saved her from the necessity of a conscientious rejection’. He also ‘saves’ her from having to dance with villain John Thorpe ‘so narrowly escape John Thorpe’. Catherine naively believes it was as ‘if he had sought her on purpose’. Austen is satirising the relationship between the hero and heroine.
However, Henry Tilney may parody the typical gothic hero in that he hasn’t fallen dramatically in love with the novel’s heroine Catherine, his ‘affection originated in nothing better than gratitude’. Although Northanger Abbey ends happily as Gothic Romances such as The Mysteries of Udolpho do (with Emily and Valancourt reunited), there is a much less dramatic romantic element, thus parodying the conventions of Gothic Romance.
Some readers see Henry is seen as a male protagonist who is forever trying to educate Catherine, and he often patronises her as well, such as his mocking gothic story ‘your lamp suddenly expires in the socket’, to which Catherine becomes quite excited and emotive ‘Oh! No, no’. This puts Henry in a more unfavourable light, suggesting his heroic qualities are not abundant, and that he takes a slight pleasure in belittling Catherine at times.
Northanger Abbey also makes use of villains, another typical feature of Gothic Romance. Catherine is pursued by villains – although unlike Ambrosio in Matthew Lewis’, The Monk, who commits acts of rape and murder, the villains in Northanger Abbey have more humane failings – materialism, rudeness and arrogance, rather than the evil menacing villains of The Monk, and The Mysteries of Udolpho.
John Thorpe does not exude the sexual magnetism of many villains such as Ambrosio in The Monk, who Mathilda is infatuated with. He is clumsy and idiotic. ‘fidgeted about’. He even makes a bumbling attempt to propose to Catherine, to which she is oblivious.
He does however try to thwart Catherine’s plans, from lying about the Tilney’s to almost forcing Catherine to change her plans. ‘How could you tell me they were gone?’
General Tilney also lacks the sexual magnetism and upon meeting him the reader is not aware of an evil dark nature, more a harsh materialistic nature. Catherine fantasises about what evil deeds he may have done, but the reader can clearly see that this is Austen mocking Catherine’s naïve nature. General Tilney banishes Catherine towards the end of the story mysteriously – to Catherine’s horror, ‘her grief and agitation were excessive’. This follows the convention of the villains although instead of showing the General to be evil it merely highlights his rudeness.
The parody of the villains in Northanger Abbey is that neither of them poses serious threat. Unlike many Gothic Romances, especially Lewis’ The Monk Austen does not show the darker side of human nature in her novel, suggesting that she is in fact satirising the villains and emphasising their ordinariness. In The Monk however, critics suggest, such as Fred Botting in ‘Gothic’ that Lewis explores the excess of passion and the destructiveness of passion, concealed behind refined sensibilities and respectability through Ambrosio.
The setting of a Gothic novel also is of great importance. The first main setting in Northanger Abbey is Bath, a historical resort town in England – a far cry from the exotic locations in novels such as The Castle of Otranto which is set in Italy, and The Monk in Madrid. It is fashionable and thronging with people, unlike the isolated castles in many Gothic Novels. Bath does not comply with the conventions of Gothic novels because although romantic happenings occur here, there is no Gothic element to it.
Northanger Abbey however, is a more ideal setting for a Gothic novel, as religious settings feature highly in gothic novels, such as the abbey ‘Capuchin Church’ in The Monk. The abbey though does contain objects such as grand old chests ‘she was struck by the appearance of a high, old fashioned black cabinet’.
Although Northanger Abbey has great expectations for Catherine, the reality is far from her fantasies. Modern, ‘profusion and elegance of modern taste’, comfortable and with no apparent subterranean passages or labyrinths it suggests that Austen is parodying the Abbey, detailing Catherine’s great expectations ‘its long damp passages, its narrow cells and ruined chapel’ and then showing the reality of Northanger Abbey.
The plot of Northanger Abbey is not typically Gothic, in that the first part of the novel is spent in Bath, and of course many of the characters are parodies.
Stock elements on plot in Gothic Romance include absent mothers, like in The Mysteries of Udolpho and tyrannical fathers – of which Catherine has neither, her father was ‘not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters’. Another typical element of plot in the gothic genre is the use of supernatural, which appears very little in Northanger Abbey, if at all.
Typical Gothic plotlines which do occur in the novel include, although trivialised, the persecuted maiden. Catherine is pursued by John Thorpe and prevented from meeting her true love; Henry Tilney ‘How could you deceive me so, Mr Thorpe?’ This event is similar to one in The Mysteries of Udolpho, although more serious, where the evil Count Montoni ‘he would no longer be trifled with’ imprisons Emily in his fortress, and prevents her from seeing Valancourt, her suitor, ‘she was going into her prison; the gloomy court, into which she passed, served to confirm the idea’.
Another common feature of the plot in the Gothic genre is the narrative technique which reveals the punishment of the sin before actually revealing what the sin was. This applies to Northanger Abbey when the General dismisses Catherine without explanation until much later ‘Explanation and apology are equally impossible’, and this complies with the gothic convention. However, the cause of Catherine’s dismissal is not in the least dramatic, it is a much more prosaic, realistic cause: not having enough wealth: ‘She was guilty only of being less rich than he had supposed her to be’.
In addition, Gothic Romances typically end happily, such as in The Mysteries of Udolpho, where Emily and Valancourt are reunited. Northanger Abbey follows this convention, with Henry and Catherine to be married, at the eventual persuasion of General Tilney, who at first typically disapproves of the marriage. The parody is that although they are to be married, Henry isn’t captivated by Catherine unlike other Gothic heroes such as Valancourt who is in love with Emily in The Mysteries of Udolpho, ‘Valancourt again pressed her to his heart, and held her there in silence, weeping’.
Moreover, the language in Northanger Abbey could be described as Gothic. Gothic literature was often criticised for its sensationalism such as Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, a critic in the British Critic (1794) stated that the ‘lady’s talent for description leads her to excess’. Austen often uses burlesque language, to juxtapose extremely ordinary events with sensationalist language such as the ladies crossing the road ‘this evil had been felt and lamented at least three times a day’.
Burlesque language is also often used to describe Catherine’s emotional state of mind, which, especially in her Gothic adventures adds to the tension, ‘she jumped hastily in, and sought some suspension of agony by creeping far underneath the clothes‘. However, the outcomes of her Gothic adventures are trivial and ordinary.
Austen uses emotive, melodramatic language extremely well to present Catherine’s state of mind, which, at Northanger Abbey, becomes increasingly paranoid and suspicious. She seems almost deranged in her accusations of the General, from murdering to locking up his wife, ‘Catherine’s blood ran cold with the horrid suggestions, ‘search for the proofs of the General’s cruelty’. In the passages describing Catherine’s delusions of General Tilney, Austen echoes Radcliffe’s style, language and plot, suggesting Catherine is caught up in a literary illusion.
Pathetic Fallacy is often a commonly used device in Gothic Romance to help create a certain tense atmosphere which parallels the feelings of the main characters. In Northanger Abbey, Austen successfully incorporates this technique into Catherine’s late night adventure. To add to the tension, it ‘rained violently‘ and ‘the wind roared’. Austen further develops this idea of pathetic fallacy by actually saying: ‘everything seemed to speak the awfulness of her situation’.
In Northanger Abbey however, Jane Austen has a witty sarcastic style ‘he was not in the least addicted to locking up his daughters’ which adds to the parodying of characters and plot, and I feel that it makes the language more realistic and down to earth.
The language is often much more rational than most Gothic novels, which can be melodramatic, such as in The Castle of Otranto: ‘in a frantic manner, his eyes staring, and foaming at the mouth’ and this shows that Northanger Abbey is a much more rational realistic novel.
Indeed Jane Austen often asserts her opinion through the language, and what she thinks of the Gothic genre. ‘it was not in them perhaps that human nature, at least in the midland counties of England was to be looked for’. This adds to the parody, and shows that Austen finds the genre ridiculous.
I think Jane Austen didn’t want to write a Gothic Romance, but rather a novel which deals with Gothic literature, and parody what she though was a ridiculous genre. I also think she wanted to defend the novel, ‘the liveliest effusions of wit and humour are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language‘. Austen perhaps included this to show that all novels are not implausible sensationalist tales. Some critics have suggested that Henry Tilney represents the voice of Jane Austen as he too defends the novel, ‘who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid’.
Although primarily a parody of Gothic Romance, some critics also state it is a story of the heroine Catherine’s transition from a naïve, fantasising young girl, into a more mature, perceptive and down to earth woman. I wholly agree, as the reader can clearly see the transition period from the start of her stay at Northanger Abbey, to the end of the novel.
In conclusion, I think that Northanger Abbey is not a true Gothic Romance, although it incorporates many features and stylistic devices, these are for the purpose of parody; not drama.