103 pages • 3 hours read
Jane AustenNorthanger Abbey
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1817A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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BetaSymbols & Motifs
The Gothic
The conventions of the gothic are an important motif throughout the novel. While Austen satirizes many gothic tropes by using the gap between Catherine’s melodramatic fantasies and the humdrum reality of her existence to create humorous situations and misunderstandings, the gothic also serves as a means by which Catherine gradually learns to “read” the world around her. At first, Catherine’s naivety makes her very literal-minded: She tries to impose what she reads in her gothic novels onto the world around her, without moderating her expectations. For example, she decides that General Tilney is a gothic-style villain who has murdered his wife, simply because his gloomy character and the Abbey in which he lives seems to line up with the tropes in her novels. The reality is dangerous in a different way: The General is seeking to manipulate her based on a mistaken belief in how wealthy she is, leaving her to fend for herself on her journey home once he discovers she is not what he expected her to be. Catherine gradually realizes that while the gothic makes for good reading material, “reading” people accurately in the real world requires more maturity, subtlety, and a different kind of skill.
Fashion
Fashion is another important motif in the novel. Austen portrays fashion and clothing as something that people who are shallow, like Mrs. Allen, or obsessed with status, like Isabella, spend their time thinking about. Mrs. Allen can think of little else besides fashion and what people wear, causing her to neglect her duties as Catherine’s chaperone. Isabella dresses ostentatiously to attract male attention and to appear wealthier than she really is, revealing the more superficial and social-climbing aspects of her character. General Tilney also demonstrates an occasional fixation on what is fashionable: He attempts to impress Catherine through his modern renovations and fine plates and furniture at the Abbey, treating his possessions and style as status symbols meant to impress others.
However, it is important to note that the novel is not entirely anti-fashion, since Eleanor dresses well and Henry is also interested in clothing. This demonstrates that well-rounded, genuine people may count fashion and decor as one of their many interests, but only shallow people make clothes and possessions their sole focus.
Northanger Abbey
As the novel’s title suggests, Northanger Abbey is the novel’s central symbol, embodying both the gothic elements Catherine loves while also serving as a setting for her most important personal development. When Catherine arrives at Northanger Abbey, she hopes she will find herself thrust into an adventure or a mystery just like the heroines in her novels. Instead, the reality of the Abbey confronts Catherine with how wrapped up she was in her fantasies. The building itself is not all that old, as the General has performed many modern renovations, and it is not the site of sinister crimes as Catherine initially fantasizes. That said, her experiences in the Abbey are just as compelling as any mystery in a novel, because the challenges she faces there are ones of self-discovery and pursuing knowledge, love, and happiness.
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