Comparing A Midsummer Night's Dream And Northanger Abbey By Jane Austen

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Recommended: The portrayal of women in 19th century literature

The topics of Love, Marriage and Gender are very popular topics examined in many works of classic literature. Two such works include the romantic comedies, William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. One of the central issues explored in these works includes the meaning of love and its relation to the convention of marriage. Additionally, the two works encompass many important gender issues of 16th and 19th century England, including the power imbalances between men and women and general patriarchal dominance. This essay aims to provide a critical comparison of both works to illustrate how despite being written two centuries apart both portray similar views on love and marriage as well as an underlying …show more content…

While the love story in Northanger Abbey is not as pronounced as Shakespeare’s play, Austen takes a similar approach in portraying themes of love and marriage in her novel through satire and comedic effect. Among other things, Northanger Abbey examines the importance of marriage and its relationship to financial security and social status for women in 19th century England. This is seen through Isabella’s relationship with James and the fact that she clearly only wanted to marry him for the perceived financial security. It is important to note that this is similar to marriage traditions of Shakespeare’s time, of which Shakespeare would have had in mind when writing A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Dolan, 2). Contrastingly, Catherine has very different opinions on people marrying for money. In fact, she even says, “to marry for money I think the wickedest thing in existence” (Austen, 137). Catherine clearly holds more romantic ideas on love and marriage despite her naiveté towards relationships. Henry on the other hand views marriage more as a social contract between man and woman, as he reveals to Catherine on the dance floor by making an analogy between dancing and

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