Northanger Abbey Romanticism

Catherine has spent a lot of her time reading Gothic novels and wondering what it would be like to be a Gothic heroine. She even gets experience of the Gothic during the storm her first night at Northanger Abbey, when she wonders what is in the chest and the cabinet in her room. It is the terror of the unknown that captivates her, and she feels childish when she realizes that her fears do not exist. In the climactic scene where she is viciously sent away by General Tilney, and does not know what she has done to deserve a punishment, she is alone and her emotions have her confused and worried. She finds out that being a heroine in real life has its pains and sorrows, which make Gothic heroines seem like they have got it easy. Thus, in Northanger Abbey, Austen is not only
The first half of Northanger Abbey takes place in the vacation town of Bath, and has nothing to do with Gothic novels. The romantic Gothic novel was the current trend at the time Austen was writing Northanger Abbey. Catherine and Henry, the protagonists, are avid fans of Gothic novels, as is Isabella, the antagonist. In fact, Catherine's delusions of Gothic fictional elements with real life creates the basis of one of the most witty subplots in the book, as she creeps through Northanger Abbey looking for clues to prove her theory that General Tilney murdered his wife or imprisoned her. Henry's shared fondness for novels forms a connection for the two characters, and shared interest in particular novels serves to bond Catherine to her false friend Isabella.T he narrator, speaking as the author, defends novels in basic claims that various benefits derived from novel reading so the novel reads somewhat like a comical book review. Northanger Abbey is mainly a novel about novels and about reading habits. This book has a self awareness of itself as a novel and the narrator often takes a break from the story she is telling to consider it as a