Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A young woman who believes fiction equals real life suddenly finds out that life is not a book, it’s worse. Northanger Abbey was the first novel completed by Jane Austen, but only published after her death.
Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, one of ten children of a country clergyman, grew up a tomboy but by the age of 17 she is "in training for a heroine" and is excessively fond of reading Gothic novels. She is invited by the Allens, her wealthier neighbors in Fullerton, to accompany them to visit the city of Bath and partake in the winter season of balls, theatre, and other social delights. Soon she is introduced to a clever young gentleman, Henry Tilney, with whom she dances and converses. Through Mrs. Allen’s old schoolfriend Mrs. Thorpe, she meets her daughter Isabella, a vivacious and flirtatious young woman, and the two quickly become friends. Mrs. Thorpe’s son, John is also a friend of Catherine’s older brother, James, at Oxford where they are both students. Yet soon enough the Thorpes become possessive of Catherine as John undermines her attempts to spend time with Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor. Isabella and James become engaged. James’ father approves of the match and offers his son a country parson's living of a modest sum, £400 annually, but they must wait until he can obtain the benefice in two and a half years. Isabella is dissatisfied, but to Catherine, she misrepresents her distress as being caused solely by the delay, and not by the value of the sum. Isabella immediately begins to flirt with Captain Tilney, Henry's older brother. Innocent Catherine cannot understand her friend's behavior, but Henry understands all too well, as he knows his brother's character and habits. The Tilneys invite Catherine to stay with them for a few weeks at their home, Northanger Abbey. Catherine, in accordance with her novel reading, expects the abbey to be exotic and frightening. Henry teases her about this, as it turns out that Northanger Abbey is pleasant and decidedly not Gothic. However, the house includes a mysterious suite of rooms that no one ever enters; Catherine learns that they were the apartments of Mrs. Tilney, who died nine years earlier. As General Tilney no longer appears to be ill-affected by her death, Catherine decides that he may have murdered her or even imprisoned her in her chamber. Catherine discovers that her over-active imagination has led her astray, as nothing is strange or distressing in the apartments and is set straight by Henry. Catherine comes to believe that, though novels may be delightful, their content does not relate to everyday life. Isabella breaks her engagement to James, and its implied she is become engaged to Captain Tilney, which Henry and Eleanor Tilney are skeptical of and they turn out to be correct. Yet Catherine is terribly disappointed, realizing what a dishonest person Isabella is. The General goes off to London and the atmosphere at Northanger Abbey immediately becomes lighter and pleasanter for his absence, until he suddenly returns and forces Catherine to go home early the next morning in a shocking, inhospitable, and unsafe move that forces Catherine to undertake the 70 miles journey alone. Once home, Catherine is listless and unhappy. Henry pays a sudden unexpected visit and explains what happened. General Tilney, on the misinformation of John Thorpe, had believed her to be exceedingly rich as the Allens’ prospective heiress, and therefore a proper match for Henry. In London, General Tilney ran into Thorpe again, who, angry and petty at Catherine's refusal of his half-made proposal of marriage, said instead that she was nearly destitute. Enraged, General Tilney returned home to evict Catherine. When Henry returned to Northanger, his father informed him of what had occurred and forbade him to think of Catherine again. When Henry learns how she had been treated, he breaks with his father and tells Catherine he still wants to marry her despite his father's disapproval. Catherine is delighted, though when Henry seeks her parents’ approval, they tell the young couple that final approval will only happen when General Tilney consents, which he eventually does upon learning the truth.
The quality difference between this first Austen novel and the four that were published preceding it is astonishing, frankly because of how bad it is. Catherine is a coming-of-age young woman and acts like it, which is completely fine, however the overall story she is a part of reads like an Austen rip-off if not for the fact that it was written by Austen. The Thorpes are some of the least interesting characters Austen has written as well being some of the most loathsome though not on the level of Mrs. Norris while making Emma appear not so bad. The General comes off as a fool for believing one person say two opposite things and makes Catherine’s assessment of him as uncaring appears more accurate than Henry tries to countermand in the text.
Northanger Abbey shows some foreshadowing of Jane Austen’s style, but unfortunately it also reads like a bad rip-off novel as well that one can believe is written by the same individual that wrote her four great novels.
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