NORTHANGER ABBEY & THE GOTHIC

The Gothic

Old building in antique style/ gothic windows Innocent heroine Villain Hero whose identity/integrity is doubted Ruins Ghost/ monk-like figure Mystery

The Gothic

Storm Strange noises Sliding panel Dark atmosphere Missing document Servant, preferably with a secret Staircase, preferably winding

Romance

Story of adventure and love 16th & 17th centuries = representation of life a

cynical one. Witty and critical with an ornate classical & rhetorical style

2nd ½ 18thC – rejection of this and looking for a more natural approach

Northanger Abbey

Burlesque = intention of humour – treats lofty material humorously or pretends something ordinary is significant & dignified

Parody of the gothic novel – especially, Ann Radcliffe’s – The Mysteries of Udolpho

Also Burney and Richardson

How does she do it?

Ridicules romantic fiction by offering models of what is expected of a heroine, and denying Catherine these qualities

Wit – paradox, antithesis, epigram & pun Irony – dramatic, verbal & socratic Satire Dialogue Voice & viewpoint Mood Sentence contstuction

Irony

Dramatic irony = situation is apparent to the reader, but not to the character (laundry list)

Verbal irony = words used in an opposite manner to their literal meaning (‘the delicacy, discretion, originality of thought, and literary taste which marked the reasonableness of that attachment’). Use of negatives: ‘without’ ‘never’ ‘instead of’

Socratic irony = adopts a character’s viewpoint to ridicule them – shows us her characters foibles (dialogue of Isabella, Thorpe & Mrs Allen reported second hand as so tedious)

Dialogue

Direct speech Indirect speech Interior dialogue

Satire

Ridiculing of faults of human nature - Result of irony

Primary focus here is Gothic and romance literature – the misuse of it

Sharpest satire is at the expense of the Thorpes

Voice and Viewpoint

Omniscient Interior dialogue – Catherine’s point of view Austen’s own voice

Sentence Construction

Length & construction is important Action & events = short sentences Elaborate construction of the period, with

many dependent and linked clauses

Purpose?

Reading novels causes foolish imagination in the reader and leads to all sorts of dangers

Reading novels is alright as long as the reader doesn’t mistake them for real life

Its not necessary to find danger in novels, there’s plenty in real life

Purpose?

Is she ridiculing society in Bath and elsewhere

Is she preaching about the dangers of society?

Is she having fun with her readers to entertain them?

Romanticism ?

How does her purpose relate to the concerns of the module? Valuing the imagination, the individual & idealism Search for meaning through relationship with the

natural world & wider social/political contexts Examine or affirm the power of the imagination to

inform, illuminate and transform human experience

Experimentation with ideas & forms may reflect or challenge ways of thinking