![]() ![]() ![]() Although Catherine perceives Northanger Abbey to be haunted and mysterious, it is far from so “Its long, damp passages, its narrow cells and ruined chapel, were to be within her daily reachTo an imagination which had hoped for the smallest divisions, and the heaviest stone-work, for painted glass, dirt and cobwebs, the difference was very distressing.”(Austen, 1817). The setting of an old abbey and the innocent heroine pursued by the aristocratic villain with a dark secret are satirised for their typical use to build suspense and tension in gothic novels. It is through her use of typical gothic elements and archetypes, the anti-climactic climaxes, and the false looming danger and mystery that Austen parodies both Radcliffe’s characters and tone as a means of satirising the gothic genre.Īustin displays several gothic elements in ‘Northanger Abbey’, however these elements are really only a figure of Catherine’s delusions. The novel is a direct parody of Ann Radcliffe’s ‘Mysteries of Udolpho’ and several other popular authors at the time as a means for Austen to criticise the lack of sensibility displayed in gothic novels. The novel, ‘Northanger Abbey’, is a satire of gothic literature written by Jane Austen between 17 during the era when gothic literature and romanticism were very popular. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |