This essay was written for Kate Lawson, in English 430A in December 2002.
Northanger Abbey
foregrounds the question of what it means to be a heroine, in literature and in
life. It is not a sentimental or gothic novel, but a parody of both, an
entirely different kind of novel. Its heroine, similarly, is not the typical
heroine of sentimental or gothic novels, but an entirely different kind of
heroine. The most important difference between Catherine and the typical
heroine with whom she is juxtaposed is that she changes over the course of the
novel. At the outset of the novel, the narrator diligently illustrates that
Catherine has none of the characteristics of the typical heroine. Says the
narrator, "No one who had seen her in her infancy would have supposed her born
to be an heroine"(39). This apparently simple statement is in fact quite
profound. The narrator is not judging Catherine's heroic potential, but the
ability of characters to see
heroic potential. Necessarily, one cannot see heroic potential without knowing
the characteristics of a heroine. In the world of Northanger Abbey, characters learn the characteristics of a heroine
from examples in novels. Thus, the characters to whom the narrator refers
assess Catherine's heroic potential by comparing her to the heroines of novels.
As readers, however, we have a different perspective on Catherine's heroic
potential. From our position outside the novel, we are able to judge
Catherine's heroic potential in ways that the characters cannot. We are able to
read and reread Northanger Abbey,
and, in the process of reading and rereading, we can see how Catherine misreads
the events and people of her life. She misreads Thorpe's interest in her and
Isabella's relationship with Frederick Tilney. She further mistakes Northanger
Abbey for a castle of Gothic proportions and intrigue, a locked chest and a
black cabinet for strongholds of mysterious things, and the natural death of
Mrs. Tilney for a calculated murder. Catherine learns from these misreadings
and mistakes, however, and illustrates the development of her understanding
when she perceives Isabella's true character. Granted, she does not see General
Tilney's true character, but her perception of Isabella's character shows us
that she has grown, and suggests that she will continue to grow. This growth is
the most important difference between Catherine and the typical heroine to whom
she is juxtaposed throughout the novel. Catherine, unlike these other heroines,
is more a heroine at the end of the novel than she is at the beginning.
