Jane Austen Book Group - Northanger Abbey

[sirinrob]

I can only echo vodkafan's sentiments. The whole novel is a parody of the 'Gothic' novel, rich with humour, acerbic at times which added to the fun. The sendup of the Gothic horror was delicious. Also the incisive view on social mores was telling.

 

I enjoyed this

[frankie]

When we were reading this on one of our English lit courses my professor also pointed out that it's a sort of a parody of the Gothic genre. That the girls were reading all these Gothic novels and scaring themselves silly and it was all down to their overexcited imagination. A very witty novel I have to say.

[chesilbeach]

re: Chesilbeach and Lit driven girl's comments:

 

strange I didn't catch any foreboding or dark Gothic things in the novel. It was humorous all the way through for me. I never felt Catherine was in any actual physical danger.

 

That was sort of my point - when I read it, I thought it was funny and charming, and that it was just a young innocent girl being too influenced by the gothic novels of the age, but all the adaptations I've seen make it into a dark and gothic screenplay, which I don't think capture the spirit of the book at all.

[Booknutt]

Hi Ian -

I suspect that this is where the chat you've started has been shifted to?

Great to hear from another fan of our admired-Jane.

 

Yes, Northanger Abbey is usually the least respected of all the Austen works, but it makes a quite serious point actually. As Catherine did, we usually target people as "baddies" for the wrong reasons. Catherine (her teenage head stuffed with Gothic romances) thought General Tilney had murdered his wife, and convinced herself that the Abbey itself held dark secrets.

He hadn't of course, but his treatment of her when he found out she wasn't the "heiress" of his hopes (chucking her out, far from home and penniless) was monsterous, for that day and age. He actually did her a favour, though, as she grew up fast, got herself home, and became a much more sensible person, from there on. A very suited wife for Henry, in fact. So a happy ending.

 

What is it you like best about the novels? Austen's style, her wit, or the wonderful character analysis she produces for our entertainment (and instruction).

[ian]

I am suprised to learn that this is her most derided novel, as I would put this as a very close second to Pride & Predudice, and certainly the funniest of those I've read (Emma & Persuation).

 

I love the way Jane Austen "steps out" as the narrator to say - "well look, I'm going to do this now" before getting on with the story. It humanises the story more for me. I also think that when you consider that this was her first novel, it really shows what a gifted writer she really was

 

 

Ian

[Booknutt]

Talent will out, Ian, at any age.

 

You've got a good attitude to the novels, too - you're not letting yourself be influenced by what others think, which is what we all ideally should do - regarding books, or life itself!

 

For myself - I love Jane's sarcastic humour . She clearly saw the flaws in her own society - and I suspect, loved having a "pop" at them, through her characters and their situations.

 

In a time when those of her class repressed their own feelings and adjusted their own behaviours to conform to the dictates of Society - it must have been a wonderful way of venting, and the popularity of her novels would seem to indicate that many other people of her time (including the Prince Regent) agreed with her!