Austens Parody Of The Gothic Novel - Research Paper Example

The Misplaced Gothic and Its Parody in Austen’s “Northanger Abbey” The Jane Austen’s father encouraged her to read and write extensively. Northanger Abbey was among her earliest works. The novel is a parody of the gothic novel that deals mostly on terror, and romance. In those years, the novel was popular. Gothic romances by were a prime literature escape, written by women and sold at affordable prices for women. The genre was popular for almost 50 years, which is equivalent to half a century. The novel talks about Catherine Morland who is a young girl. After the young girl reads numerous gothic books, she starts to imagine herself as one. The girl aspires to become a gothic. This paper explores the way Austen tries to contrast with the protagonist. The author ensures that the character develops and matures with time. Jane Austen portrays Catherine, the protagonist in “Northanger Abbey,” as a Gothic heroine who is implausible in the beginning of the novel. The novel shows a number of similarities that exist between Austen’s novel and Gothic romance. The relationship between the two is the fact that they both portray marriage as the ultimate goal in a woman’s life (Ghosal 262). The characterization of Catherine by the author as a young girl who is active acts as a sign that freedom is real. Austen uses humor, good spirit, and imagination to depict this reality. This paper uncovers how the novel is a parody, and discusses feminism and the Gothic. The highly crucial message of declaring women’s reasoning is clear in “Northanger Abbey” through Jane Austen’s ridicule of praise for foolishness amongst women. The voice of the narrator acts as the stage from which Austen can stale her opinions. Even though the narrator appears to concur with the opinions of the other writer about women concealing their intelligence, the statements in the book precisely contradict their words (Austen 76). The renowned quote that a woman, particularly when she is unfortunate about knowing anything helpful, ought to conceal it as properly as she can apparently does not echo Austen’s views. By stating things like this, Austen ridicules other writers who truly believe in such views (Austen 76). Austen openly tackles this issue when she says that the “capital pen of a sister author” already laid down the benefits of natural “folly” in an attractive girl.” Austen discredits the guidance that women of her time got from men like Dr. John Gregory and says that women ought to use their intelligence. Additionally, by illustrating Mrs. Allen as materialistic and foolish female character Austen just further mocks this type of woman. Mrs. Allen is the ideal picture of the obedient and reliant spouse that men counseled other women to become (Austen 40). Mrs. Allen’s state of mind and incapacity for reasoning permits her to socialize with the opposite gender with the capacity to administer to the pride of other people. Men like Henry Tilney took pleasure in ignorance since it permitted them to display their intelligence. This way, such men could teach inexperienced woman to behave in ways they respected and preferred. Mary Wollstonecraft’s “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” just additionally highlighted Austen’s opinions about women’s knowledgeable abilities in “Northanger Abbey.” The author of the novel was young when writing the novel and did not do much about revision of the novel. Jane generates the novel by citing popular and famous romances by Gothic romances in her novel (Ramsey 179). Introduction to theory and literature describes a parody as an imitation that comes from the work of a different author. An author to make things seem amusing or ridiculous does the imitation. The second part of the novel indicates that the novel is a parody. According to Baudot, the introductory part of the novel is an example of “the Gothic burlesque” (Baudot 325). When Catherine leaves the Bath, she believes the gothic adventure may have begun. She speaks to Henry about her delight about the edifice that is ancient. At that point, she tries to elude the romances that are gothic according to what she had previously read. Henry responds to Catherine’s delight with dry humor. Henry asks Catherine if she is ready to encounter horrors that may build up with time (Baudot 325). Henry also talks with mockery about the gothic tradition. He does that by talking about passages found in Ann Radcliff’s novel that was famous, the forest romance. Catherine received accommodation that was fair enough. She was busy circling the spacious house. At that point, of the novel, the reader can feel suspense and horror. They erected a modern building where there was a scrapping on a part of the abbey. Catherine shows her disappointment towards the building (Baudot 325). Catherine expected to see everything about the Northanger Abbey was Gothic. The disappointment was because most of the things that she saw were contrary to her expectations. However, Catherine was extremely certain that General Tilney had kept his wife in a secret room that was in the house, or probably he had murdered wife. Writers used this new genre during the eighteenth century in gothic novels as a reaction against rationality and morality. Readers of these novels get intense feelings of horror and fear. People used gothic novels to support legends about the supernatural, the macabre, and interesting lives of people who live in haunted graveyards (Novak 60). Gothic writers usually subject a heroine to unimaginable terrors in nearly every novel they compose. In this case, Austen portrays Catherine as a young but not physically endowed character who makes her choices different from the other typical gothic heroines. The gothic novels depict heroines as characters capable of managing the many obstacles that they face. Getting past the same obstacles is what makes gothic heroines end up victorious in all situations. The author portrays the heroine abilities of Catherine in any ordinary terms that are possible. Austen does not portray Catherine as a heroine who is usually ravishing in most gothic novels. The writer shows Catherine as a rather pleasing and ordinary who is young and is a new society. Instead, Austen portrays Catherine as a character fond of gothic novels and charming. Predominant gothic fashion strongly influenced Catherine’s cheap deal of literature (Ghosal 262). She is a heroine who is gothic, according to her mind. Catherine appreciates things that are feminine although she is a tomboy. The author describes her as a heroine who is unlikely because she has a figure that is awkwardly thin and a skin that is shallow and without color. She has strong features and hair that is dark lank. Catherine mostly preferred games associated with boys (Ghosal 267). This means that she is a girl who is young and ordinary and only imagines to be taking part in a gothic novel. In the first part of the novel, Catherine finds herself in the fashionable Bath where she is eager for adventures. Already after a couple of weeks in Bath, far away from her family, she is starting to mature. Her introduction to Bath society makes Catherine lose a little of her childish innocence. It is the start of a long process towards maturity (Ramsey 179). Catherine is lively. In some ways, Catherine is still a tomboy, gauche and direct. Catherine is a woman who cannot faint when emotions overcome her but adapts herself at once to the circumstances in which she finds herself. Catherine is upset and surprised at seeing Henry accompanied by another woman. Austen says “Catherine sat erect, in the perfect use of her senses, and with cheeks only a little redder than usual” (Austen 82). As a result, Catherine does not reveal any emotions, quite the opposite of a Gothic heroine (Austen 82). When she meets Henry Tilney, instead of fainting with pure joy, she welcomes him quietly. She does find herself in some extremely difficult situations, not least at the hands of General Tilney, Henry’s father and elegant creation of a villain. However, she is always able to help her situation by practical measures. In the second part of the novel, the Tilney family invites Catherine to Northanger Abbey, the medieval abbey. Catherine is a guest mainly because the family believes she is the heir. Unfortunately, the family is wrong. Nonetheless, Catherine is happy for the invitation: “To receive so flattering an invitation! To have her company so warmly solicited!” (Moore 72). Despite her confusion, Catherine wants to be content and enjoy her life. This is mostly because of the influences she picked up from popular books and magazines. Catherine’s confusion arises from the General reference to her new position as an heiress. She explores the old house with many questions in her mind. Now her Gothic adventure begins. Jane Austen as a parody of the Gothic novel wrote the novel at a period when such romances were popular. Writers mostly wrote Gothic novels for women. Austen read with gothic novels that provided her with a chance to escape into a world of romance (Lamont 661). The widespread popularity of the Gothic novels was like a reaction to the order of the eighteenth century. Eighteenth century England is common for change and unrest. The revolution from the French Revolution took place in the nearby area, and it acted as a threat to the stability that prevailed in England. The French revolution also had a significant impact on the feminist movement advancement (Moore 70). The family of Austen was aware of the events that were taking place. Austen used humor and irony to show displeasure on the incidents and characters in her novel. Intelligently, she does not directly refer to the events that were taking place. Works Cited Austen Jane. Northanger Abbey. Barnes and Nobel classics. 2005. Print. Baudot, Laura. Nothing Really in It: Gothic Interiors and the Externals of the Courtship Plot in Northanger Abbey. Eighteenth Century Fiction 24.2 (Fall 2012): 325-52. Print. Ghosal Wallace, Tara. Northanger Abbey and the Limits of Parody. Studies in the Novel 20.3 (Fall 1988): 262-74. Print. Lamont, Claire. Jane Austen and the Old. The Review of English Studies 54.217 (Nov. 2003): 661-74. Print. Moore, Roger E. The Hidden History of Northanger Abbey: Jane Austen and the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Religion & Literature 43.1 (Spring 2011): 55-80. Print. Novak, Maximillian E. Gothic Fiction and the Grotesque. NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 13.1 (Autumn 1979): 50-67. Print. Ramsey, Rachel. The Literary History of the Sash Window. Eighteenth Century Fiction 22.2 (Winter 2010): 171-94. Print. Read More