The Young Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen’s fiction is part of the great tradition of Western literature that has its roots in the classical poets. Her writing reveals essential truths about human nature, including the importance of virtues such as courage, prudence, generosity, and justice. Reading a Jane Austen novel is an education in good character formation.

Jane Austen was born in 1775, the seventh of eight children. Her parents—clergyman George Austen and his wife Cassandra—instilled in her a love of the written word, and she began writing at a young age. Austen’s early fiction tends to parody popular genres of her day, including—in the case of Northanger Abbey—the gothic novel.

Jane Austen’s use of irony promotes discernment and creates a sense of community with the novel’s readers. The heroine of Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland, lacks an ear for such irony, because she is limited by her literalism. Accordingly, as the novel progresses, a major theme that emerges is the importance of a proper education.

As Catherine’s time in Bath draws to a close and she prepares for the trip to Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen shows the moral significance of conventional and mannered behavior. This can be seen not only in the context of social situations, but also in matters of contemporary taste, including landscape, the visual arts, and literature.

After Catherine arrives at Northanger Abbey, her obsession with gothic fiction leads to some humorous mishaps and serious errors. With some help from Henry, Catherine eventually learns to confront life’s challenges with greater courage. These events illustrate what Austen has to say about the challenge of “learning to love.”

After General Tilney abruptly and unexpectedly asks Catherine to leave Northanger Abbey, Catherine returns home. She is despondent until Henry arrives to apologize for his father’s behavior and to propose marriage, a proposal Catherine joyfully accepts. One of Northanger Abbey’s major lessons is that fiction is most valuable when it deepens our fascination with the reading of real life.