Jane Austen's Tilney As A Gothic Hero

As soon as Austen introduces us to Henry Tilney, we can see that he is not a typical gothic hero. However, Catherine still describes Tilney as having an aura of charm and good looks through the quote ‘A very intelligent and lively eye and if not handsome was very near it’. As a modern reader, Austen gives us the impression that Catherine is already thinking of him as her hero. 18th century girls however would be more downhearted by the lack of a big entrance that comes with the typical heroes.
Austen also portrays Tilney as humorous by asking Catherine “proper” questions that mock boring small talk that couples were supposed to engage in, such as: ‘How long have you been in Bath?’ and ‘Have you been to the theatre?’. Although we as readers

can see Austen is poking fun at this tradition, Catherine is very naïve and answers very truthfully; this could indicate that Tilney may try to use her. Tilney however does not think much of a lady’s literary skills and says that they only write about daft things, have no idea how to use punctuation and ignore grammar. This statement would drag a female reader’s view of Tilney down because he is insulting women’s abilities.
Tilney also gives the impression of having a short attention span and needing to impress everyone, when he turns to Mrs. Allen and starts talking about clothing while totally ignoring Catherine. Although Tilney seems rude, he might just be trying to get on good terms with Mrs. Allen because he likes Catherine and wants to continue the acquaintance.