Today I finished yet another of Austen's lovely novels - Northanger Abbey. Published post-humorously, yet one of her first written, the situation surrounding the novel plays perfectly into its satire regarding mystery, art, and life.
NOTE: Review may not be spoiler-free, but also the book is a few hundred years old so spoiler warnings feel superfluous.
Although I didn't like this book as much as Mansfield Park, I still really enjoyed the story. In particular, I loved how the book advanced its own thematic principles through satire and caricature, although at times it definitely paid for the device by a lack of character development that I'm used to seeing in Austen. Or perhaps it's just that I'm more accustomed to her more mature style of writing, which lacks the tongue in cheek parody that is the primary style of the work. Often I found myself laughing out loud at the actions, speeches, and descriptions of most of the characters and situations in the work.
The themes of mystery and intrigue are by far the most prevalent in the novel. The heroine, as she is continuously described and humorously called throughout the novel, Catherine, is someone who is used to living in a family that are straight-forward, no-nonsense, honest characters. As a result of her country life, she enjoys gothic novels (which were also popular at the time) that involve romance, mystery, intrigue, and the supernatural in order to liven her otherwise ordinary (though happy) existence.
Thus, when she goes to the Tilney's home called Northanger Abbey, she is full of expectation that her visit there will also be filled with the same kind of mystery and supernatural plotting that exists in novels. However, her love interest, Henry, is quick to tease her and point out that nothing of that sort really happens. Austen continues to play on her expectations and fantasies while also mocking the tropes of the gothics - Catherine suspects General Tilney to be a murderer, she hopes to discover some hidden treasure or manuscript in a cupboard, and she tries to see if the late Mrs. Tilney left any secret journals in her closed chambers. However, all of her expectations are continuously revealed to be foolish - General Tilney is not a murderer, there's nothing more than a laundry bill in the linen cupboard, and Mrs. Tilney's rooms are ordinary.
Instead, all of the mystery and intrigue actually comes from the deceitful actions and words of the characters Catherine encounters. Although no murderers, Catherine is surprised by her friend Isabella's deceitfulness towards both her brother James and herself, as Isabella breaks off her engagement to James, but tries to fool Catherine into believing it was not her fault. She is similarly unused to General Tilney saying one thing while meaning another, believing him to be in earnest when he proclaims that money and status don't mean anything to him, while in reality, it does. She also doesn't realise that part of John Thorpe's boastful, talkative nature is meant to forward a pursuit of her hand until Isabella tells her so. In short, although the characters have no malicious, evil, supernatural types of deceit, theirs is found to be much more common and insightful about humanity as a whole. All of them are susceptible to vanity and the hypocrisy of society - Catherine is one of the few characters who "says what she means" and is a direct contrast to everyone else.
Hand in hand with this theme, Austen's commentary on how life doesn't (and shouldn't aspire to) reflect art is all too clear. To be caught in such fanciful imaginings are foolish, and the mundane of social connections, maintaining a home, and furthering the character of an individual are to be cherished in their own right. The most obvious example of this is how Catherine's eagerness for supernatural adventure is constantly contrasted with the intrigue of relationships formed, maintained, or broken by each of the characters, and how Henry constantly steers her towards improving her mind on such topics.
Which, speaking of Henry, he may be the plainest of Austen's heroes, but in some ways, one of her most honest which illuminates her third satirical theme regarding everyday life. Henry is the second son, a clergyman with a modest income, and "almost handsome". Aside from serving as a foil to Catherine's fanciful, imaginative nature, Henry doesn't make any grand gestures of affection towards the novel's heroine. In fact, the narrator sheepishly admits that his affection for her, although by the end of the novel due to its own merits, in fact, started simply because Catherine liked him first. This is consistent with Austen's descriptions of their interactions, which are usually described as Catherine being ashamed that she knows so little regarding a topic they are discussing, and fearful that this will make Henry not like her. However, the exact opposite occurs, and Catherine's ignorance, open affection, and eager audience to Henry simply endear her further to him. In short, it's a parody of a more familial modern stereotype that "girls need to act dumb to get boys to like them". However, rather than endorsing this message, Austen instead uses the relationship of Henry and Catherine to further the enjoyment and fulfilment of a normal, everyday type of romance and interaction rather than a torrid, mysterious affair as seen in the gothic novels Catherine enjoys.
However, that isn't to say that Henry is a bland, vanilla love interest to Catherine as this article delightfully adovcates. He is thoughtful, unafraid to profess an interest in "women's" activities and enjoyments like fashion and novels, and never makes fun of Catherine for her fanciful imagination or her lesser status. Through and through Henry is almost ridiculously respective and eager to genuinely get to know Catherine and her interests. In short, he's a stand up hero in the fact that his character has so little to alter unlike Mr. Darcy - he is already someone worth Catherine's affections.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable read, and it definitely made me want to give her other three famous novels - Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, and Emma a read as soon as I can! And, if anything, what reading two more of Austen's novels has taught me it's that her work is astonishingly timeless, brilliantly witty, and shows what exactly is gained in art when women come to it with their own unique perspective.
4/5 - Would recommend for those of us, like myself, who like to imagine a world of make-believe to be infinitely superior to that of the real one, and sometimes need a comedic reminder that real life can be just as mysterious and captivating
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