The ways women are presented in Northanger Abbey are through the characters of Catherine Morland, Isabella Thorpe, Eleanor Tilney, Mrs Allen, and the mothers of the Morland and Thorpe family, who are the main female characters within this novel. I will be seeing how they are presented through their personalities, character analysis, and the development of the character though out the novel. I will be finding and deciphering scenes, conversations and character description and backing up with quotes to show how Austen has presented women in her novel Northanger Abbey. A way to see how women are presented in Northanger Abbey is too look through characters relationships with others. In this case I am choosing Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland. …show more content…
The scene I am going to choose is after Catherine has been exploring General Tilney’s house to find prove that his wife was murdered by her husband and Henry catches her on the staircase. This scene shows the idea that men and associated more with rationality and reason, while women, in this case Catherine, are linked with romance and being un-rational.
It has been evident from reading the novel before this conversation that Catherine has believed that Henry’s father killed his own wife. For example, when she discovers the doors, it says “To what might not those doors lead?”, “... lay the apartments of the unfortunate Mrs. Tilney, must be, as certainly...” (Austen, J. 2003. Northanger Abbey. Pp. 138-138) This quote shows the progression of Catherine discovering the doors, which is the first quote, to her being “certain” that Mrs. Tilney was murdered in there. The use of the word “certain” is used to mean 100% certain sure of what she, Catherine, is thinking. This quote shows that Catherine’s imagination gets the better of her in moments and she quickly jumps to conclusions rather than thinking of the logical reason to where the doors may lead. When Henry finds Catherine on the staircase, Catherine immediately questions why he too is on the stair case. Henry’s reply is “How came I up that staircase? He replied, greatly surprised. Because it is my nearest way from the stable-yard to my own chamber; and why should I not come up it?” (Austen, J. 2003. Northanger Abbey. Pp. 143-143) This quote shows that …show more content…
rather than Henry answering Catherine’s question with a witty remark, flirting, or answer simply, Henry goes into an answer that is rational and detailed to why he is exactly using the staircases that Catherine is also on. Henry could of said “They were the closest one to me”, Henry goes into a detail description of which route is quickest and even sounds offended why Catherine has even asked the question in the first place, as if she was insulting him, or the fact that she even thought she had the right to ask him when it obvious that she is in a place she should not be. This quote also has emphases Catherine’s lack of logical thinking. While she believed that Henry was not meant to return till the next day, when Henry would return, he would return into the stables, then after a lengthy journey, retire into his chambers to rest after his trip, which may also be a reason why Henry was offended to why Catherine even asked the question in the first place as it is obvious to him. When Henry then confronts Catherine about her accusations about what she thinks Henry’s father did to his own wife, Henry then tells Catherine that his father was very afflicted by his wife’s death, Catherine then says “I am very glad of it, it would of been very shocking!-”. Clearly about to say more, she is then cut off by Henry who then says “... consider the dreadful nature of the suspicions you have entertained... remember the country and age in which we love... remember that we are English, that we are Christians...”, (Austen, J. 2003. Northanger Abbey. Pp. 145-145) Henry then carries on to give more very rational reasons to why his father would not have murdered his wife by stating simple but affective facts that are obvious, but again, Catherine has not taken into consideration because she is too busy going off her own whim and imagination. Linking with the way women are presented by having a lack of rationality is also linked with the idea that the novel praises the stupidity in women.
A great example of this is Mrs. Allen. Mrs. Allen is a stereotype of what women “should” be. In this case, materialistic, submissive, and a wife that dotes on her husband. This is shown when Mrs. Allen first enters Bath and has met her acquaintance, Mrs. Thorpe. The narrator observes that Mrs. Allen is never satisfied unless she is beside Mrs. Thorpe, and having a somewhat conversation that did not involve an “exchange of opinion” but only of discussing children and gowns. While at the ball, Henry Tilney is having a conversation with Catherine. Mrs. Allen then interrupts by mentioning that a pin has torn a whole in her dress. This then allows Henry to join in on this conversation and to use jargon and discuss how he buys his own cravats, and how he is an excellent judge as his sister has often trusted him before. After his reply, the narration says “Mrs. Allen was quite struck by his genius”. (Austen, J. 2003. Northanger Abbey. Pp. 16-16) Mrs. Allen’s vacancy of mind allows her to interact with the opposite sex by allowing men, such as Henry Tilney, because it allowed him to showcase his knowledge and to teach the naïve
woman. The way women are presented within the novel Northanger Abbey is that women are naïve, un-rational, materialistic, and are objects to make the male characters seem more impressive and intelligent. I have shown this through the use of the characters Catherine Morland, who is the main protagonist and heroine of the novel, and Mrs. Allen, a secondary character within the novel. I have used the characters experiences and conversations to show my points and back them up with quotes.
Third to enter is Susanna Walcott who is a nervous rushed girl. When Susanna states “he cannot discover no medicine for it in his books” there is a feeling of depression but, also, a feeling of eager to find a cure for whatever is wrong with Betty. When Susanna suggest there may be unnatural causes Parris jumps at her stating there is nothing unnatural causing this to happen to Betty. As Susanna leaves Abigail and Parris both tell her no to speak of Betty in the village. When Abigail and Parris are alone, Abigail informs her uncle, Parris, that there is a rumor of witchcraft being out in the village.
In what is for Jane Austen an uncharacteristically direct intervention, the narrator of Northanger Abbey remarks near the end: "The anxiety, which in the state of their attachment must be the portion of Henry and Catherine, and of all who loved either, as to its final event, can hardly extend, I fear, to the bosom of my readers, who will see in the tell-tale compression of the pages before them, that we are all hastening together to perfect felicity."
Abbey are crucial for developing and maturing Catherine’s character. Bibliography Austen, Jane. [1818] 1990 Northanger Abbey, ed. by John Davie, with an introduction by Terry Castle, Oxford World’s Classics, Oxford: Oxford University Press Regan, Stephen. Ed. 2001.
The parallel of Anne's growth as a compassionate woman, to Austen's growth as a compassionate writer is felt immensely by the reader. To value virtue over vanity, cultural and class diversity over conformity is to be free from the narrow confines of the ignorant mind. This is ultimately Austen's powerful message.
Women in the time of Jane Austen dedicated their lives to being good-looking (seen in the vanity of Lydia and Kitty especially) and accomplished to ensure they were marriage material, just as the maiden tried to be enchanting and desirable for The Prince. Both texts illustrate an imbalance and struggle for equality within the oppressive rules and expectations that revolve around women’s lives, and so, their relationships.
The portrayal of men and women has varied in different stories throughout history. Many portray women as beautiful, deceptive, manipulative, and smart, while men are portrayed as being strong, masculine, and easily tricked. In many of the works covered in the course “Major British Writers to 1800,” men are advised to refrain from acting lustful, believed that it would harm their overall ability to succeed in whatever the characters aimed to do. An example of this is seen in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” when Gawain is deceived by Lady Bertilak in an effort to prove that Sir Gawain is imperfect. The depictions of men and women are very similar in Fantomina by Eliza Haywood, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Phyllis and Aristotle. . While each of these stories maintain a similar image on men and women, the means in which the deception is very different. Unlike these three stories however, Paradise Lost by John Milton does not depict women as being deceptive or manipulative, nor men as being easily tricked or deceived. John Milton’s depiction of men and women is portrayed very differently in comparison to Fantomina, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Phyllis and Aristotle.
In the novel, Emma, Austen introduced her audience to a new idea of patriarchy. While she is known to satirize society for the “faulty education of female children, limited expectations for girls and women, and the perils of the marriage market” (“Austen, Jane”). Austen expresses the irony of the men of her patriarchal society and proposes the ideal gentleman in Mr. Knightley. In Emma, Austen moves away from “a traditional idea of 'natural' male supremacy towards a 'modern' notion of gender equity” (Marsh). Jane Austen is a revolutionary in the way she transforms the idea of Nineteenth Century patriarchy by not “reinforcing the traditional gender stereotypes” (Rosenbury) but instead challenging the status quo. While her characters still hold some ties to traditional ideals, Austen proves to be ahead of her time, influencing the way gender is regarded today.
Next, Because of the ridicule women receive for disobeying the social values of the time, the social values of most women was to ignore their emotions, and to focus more on the social status of men. Austen gives an example of this when Mrs. Bennet says, “If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield…and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for.” (Austen
Like Goodman and Harrop explain, women were often subordinate in nineteenth century England. In effort to show the ludicrousness of gender roles, Austen used her characters to dispel ideas like the want of a woman to be second, showing the subsidiary nature of women was not inbred in them, but forced upon women by society.
Characters in Pride and Prejudice and The Rape of the Lock are necessary tools in establishing satire within the stories. Austen uses a range of different character types in order to highlight the absurdity of society. For example, Elizabeth Bennet differs greatly from her other sisters and young ladies of Hertfordshire because h...
... Darcy and Elizabeth. Additionally, Austen sculpts the theme of social expectations and mores using the self-promoting ideology and behaviors of Lady Catherine as fodder for comic relief. Austen does not simply leave the image of the gilded aristocracy upon a pedestal; she effectively uses the unconventional character of Elizabeth to defy aristocratic authority and tradition. In fact, Austen's proposed counter view of the aristocracy by satirizing their social rank. Lady Catherine is effectively used as a satirical representation of the aristocracy through her paradoxical breach of true social decorum and her overblown immodesty. Evidently, Lady Catherine is nothing short of the critical bond that holds the structure of Pride and Prejudice together.
Jane, Austen,. Emma complete, authoritative text with biographical, historical, and cultural contexts, critical history, and essays from contemporary critical perspectives. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002.
...f society and the desire to marry into a higher class, she is able to expose her own feelings toward her society through her characters. Through Marianne and Elinor she displays a sense of knowing the rules of society, what is respectable and what is not, yet not always accepting them or abiding by them. Yet, she hints at the triviality and fakeness of the society in which she lived subtly and clearly through Willoughby, John Dashwood and Edward Ferrars. Austen expertly reveals many layers to the 19th century English society and the importance of having both sense and sensibility in such a shallow system.
Jane Eyre had became the definition of self-discovery, finding freedom, expression, true love and emotion. Although it had became a journey for her to reach those things, she had to come across some influential and non influential characters in order to reach the pursuit of happiness. In each location speaking on Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield and the Moor house ,Jane comes across a number of characters who had brought her to self discovery. The characters were Mrs. Reed, Miss Temple, Helen, Mr. Brocklehurst, St. John and John Eyre , Blanche and Mr. Mason.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre represents the role of women in the Victorian era by giving the reader an insight into the lives of women from all social classes. Jane Eyre therefore represents figures of the Victorian time yet the character of Jane Eyre, herself, can be seen as very unconventional for the Victorian society.