Read Jane Austen
Read Jane Austen

 

  1. Northanger Abbey is about an ordinary girl who tends to see the world in a rather blinkered light. How is Catherine Morland relevant to women today? Is she different from modern women? Is her outlook familiar in any way? If so, how?

 

  1. Can Northanger Abbey be read as a Gothic novel? If not, in what ways does it allude to this genre of writing?

 

  1. In what ways is Catherine in Northanger Abbey comparable to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice? Do they change at all throughout the novels?

 

Read Jane Austen

 

  1. What is the significance of wealth and property in Northanger Abbey? Does Jane Austen condemn or condone such outlooks?

 

  1. Is Catherine’s response to the General’s behaviour intrusive? Or is she actually showing initiative and perception? Is she a passive heroine, or more of an action figure? Discuss.

     

  2. W Garrod, author of the 1928 book Jane Austen: A Depreciation  complained about ‘that ridiculous use of marriage as a finale in Jane Austen’s novels’. Is this a fair comment? Is the brief description of the marriage at the end of the novel anti-climactic or prosaic? Why do you think Austen chose this closure?

 

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