Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and the Gothic Paradox

Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey strives to satirize the Gothic genre-- a genre that was not only popular at the time of Northanger Abbey's publication, but also still budding as a form-- but, unfortunately for Austen, [it] fails to do so. Whereas Northanger Abbey's protagonist, Catherine Morland, seemingly cannot adhere to the status quo represented in the novel, the primary reason is (according to Austen's rationale) because of her childish obsession with Gothic literature.

Yet Austen misses one thing: the delivery lies within a novel itself; a manufactured and, more importantly, fictitious realm. Therefore, Austen's rationale is fallacious and hypocritical-- constructed with an attitude that undermines the many qualities of novel-reading, as well as those that belong to what has become the timeless Gothic aesthetic.

Throughout the novel, the author makes it clear that Gothic novels are the cause of this aforementioned ignorance. Catherine's upbringing is promising, however. Austen's prescribed fate [for Catherine] has placed her the midst of mediocrity on every plane: a moderately wealthy family is present to support her; her physical presence is fully capable of being attractive, i.e., she might pass as "almost pretty"; and the intelligence she does have is directly related to her love for the pursuit of literacy (Austen 3). And yet, come time for her departure to the novel's epicenter of high society (located in Bath), she is left with one handicap: "her mind [is] about as ignorant and ununiformed as the female mind at seventeen usually is" (5).

Catherine's reading abilities fall short, however, when it comes to learning from real life situations, namely the ones involving the characters present throughout her stay at Bath. In fact, Catherine fails to pick up on the many pressures manifested by the culture present in Bath; on numerous occasions, Catherine finds herself the victim of her own naiveté as she is manipulated.

Henry Tilney, whose introduction alone allows for the savvy reader to recognize his role as Catherine's destined lover, and Isabella, Catherine's closest friend (and, arguably, her 'mentor') both utilize their knowledge of Gothic literature to relate to Catherine's passionate side. Whereas Tilney's numerous fabrications lead both Catherine and the plot astray, Isabella's use of Gothic [real-life] references (Anne Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, etc.) hinder the development of Catherine's womanhood in the setting of Northanger Abbey's realism.

In relation to this realism, it is safe to say that Catherine's strayings are the only real Gothic element of Northanger Abbey-- something that, paradoxically, shoves the novel into both the ultra-fantastical and the sensible. Modes shift from Catherine's imagining the supernatural, to suspecting murderous schemes, then back to realism, and ultimately love. This can be interpreted by readers as something that is ultimately sublime: reality shadowed by a dubious passion, which is satirical.

Yet this satirical take is ostensibly bungled by Austen's projections. Instead of Northanger Abbey reacting to the Gothic mode in a critical manner, it simply (and implicitly) compares it to the romantic mode. In fact, this comparison occurs at a level that is barely deeper than the soft meaning of the novel itself; i.e., Catherine's oh-so drastic adoration of the Gothic novel hinders her from the objective "reality" leftovers.

Despite Northanger Abbey being published posthumously for Austen, this element of the plot can be viewed as a major hole; by framing the story as a story about reading stories, Austen may have relied on her own stylistic choices too much to counteract the paradox of Gothic versus Romanticism. Because, for Catherine, it is all too deeply mixed with fiction.

By Austen making the choice of dividing the storyline between Romance and Gothic, she merely limits herself to a world of binary summation. Consider the character General Tilney, father of Henry Tilney. Not only is this man dubious in his role as the antagonist throughout much of the novel, his motives are never clearly displayed. While this dubiousness can easily be interpreted as an attribute prevalent in the Gothic genre (older, tyrranical father- figure), it is never redeemed once the novel returns to the Romantic mode of storytelling.

Obviously, this presumption is based upon where the reader truly wishes to place the climax of Northanger Abbey. By simply stating 'returns to the Romantic mode,' implications arise; as the General [Tilney's] power rises to the point that he actually imposes on Catherine-- suddenly making her the 'damsel in distress,' another prevalent figure in the Gothic-- conflict in the novel seems to reach its apex. True to form, all is resolved (after all of Tilney's evils, or the ones crucial to the storyline for that matter, being proverbally exorcised through some expositional dialogue) with a wedding-- an event commonly reserved for the climax of a Romance, or a traditional Comedy.

With all satire set aside, Austen chooses to, once again, reinforce the paradox she created by attempting to humanize the General. Although many other characters found in Gothic stories are humanized in their own ways, it only truly succeeds (specifically within the genre) when the proverbial dark side, the blackness beneath the drudgery, is meaningfully examined.

Unfortunately, Austen chooses a bit of hyperbole to counteract her own stylistic choices: "Among the Alps and Pyrenees, perhaps, there were no mixed characters... [but] among the English, she believed, in their hearts and habits, there was a general though unequal mixture of good and bad" (Austen 165).

Of course, this "English" would be, in accordance with Austen's representational (and extremely tongue-in-cheek) reference to "the Alps and Pyrenees," the narrator [of Northanger Abbey's] nod to the characters. I.e., whereas Anne Radcliffe placed her characters in The Mysteries of Udolpho, Austen infers that her English characters are more developed as individuals or, for that matter, better reflect the real world outside of the page. This is undoubtedly a nod to Austen's own audience, an English audience, as well. Even more, it calls attention to Austen's own Englishness, which, as D.H. Lawrence once stated as being, "...thoroughly unpleasant, English in the bad, mean snobbish sense of the word."

This snobbery is undoubtedly reflected in the society of Bath, as it is represented throughout Northanger Abbey. Here, materialism prevails and, as Catherine soon finds out, the facade is the first thing that matters; whether it's a tea party, a 'famous ball,' or a carriage ride, anyone involved is left to feel hollow at one point or another-- including the readers.

Yet this facade is constructed in such a fashion that it actually meshes with the realism Austen presents. Therefore, if this realism provides a binary opposite to the satire, the materialistic facade of Bath coincides with romance while the loftiness of Catherine's imagination coincides with, essentially, nonsense. This didactic inference, however, is far from liberating.

In fact, Austen's message to women-- the message of selling oneself in order to fit in-- is somewhat Gothic itself because it aligns with many Gothic themes, namely those involving loveless marriages, hierarchical systems, and outdated/unreasonable customs or beliefs.

Indeed, "the English... in their hearts and habits... [contain] a mixture of good and bad." Unfortunately, this complication (intended for literary purposes) is all-too-easily simplified when that mixture provides a genuinely negative outcome for those attempting to understand the context in which it is presented.

Many could understand it as hypocritical; if Austen can't take those whom read novels seriously, why should anyone take a novel seriously-- namely a Romantic one, written by Jane Austen?

Others could understand it as merely nearsighted, a reinforcement of the status quo; if Austen can't criticize and/or satirize the Gothic genre successfully, by adapting to its method of psychological and social evaluation, doesn't that merely empower the Gothic genre itself?