Going Against the Gothic

After only recently being introduced to the idea of gothic literature, but having the experience of reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelly in the past, I have a good idea of what does or fails to fall under the category of said movement. And I can say that the mysterious and suspenseful mad scientist feeling from both the characters, as well as the writing in Frankenstein, do cause a good amount of anticipation and excitement while read. Catherine, Jane Austen’s “heroine” in the novel Northanger Abbey, seeks the same sense of awe and terror a heroine in a traditional gothic styled story would experience. Instead, Catherine experiences a fairly normal stay in Bath, before heading out to the Abbey to have an even less eventful time.

Expectations are frequently not met when Catherine suspects some sort of danger is looming. At one point, Henry has Catherine on the edge of her seat while playing on her gullibility and eagerness for a “gothic” experience: “’Oh! Thou—whomesover thous mayst be, into whose hands these memoirs of the wretched Matilda may fall’—when your lamp suddenly expires in the socket, and leaves you in total darkness.’ ‘Oh! No, no—do not say so. Well, go on,’”(Northanger Abbey, 126). To an extent, there is suspense from Catherine’s perspective, but it is only a taste of the drama in the tradition gothic style. And in this case with Henry, he is merely poking fun at the idea, much like the author.

It is possible that the reason Jane Austen wished to parody the gothic style was to juxtaposition reality and imagination to show that realism aided to the growth of Catherine. Because Catherine realized the real suspense was only in her mind, she was able to mature and grow as a character. It is possible that Henry would not have married her until she gave up her childish, adventurous spirit for what was never there.

Since the events of Catherine’s life are so matter of fact in reality, and the idea of Catherine needing to give up her love for adventure in the Gothic spirit in order to marry into a well off family, I can see how the novel could discourage the reader from reading Gothic fiction. The Gothic elements within the novel are there either to be made fun of, or in Catherine’s case, to get her into trouble. Expectations are continuously constructed in Catherine’s mind, believing she were a true gothic heroine, but she is let down enough to give up the search altogether. So my final takeaway would be Jane Austen’s style does not encourage one to take up a gothic narrative, but she doesn’t explicitly discourage it. Mainly, she shows the growth of a character that wishes to have a gothic experience, then shifting her perspective after being let down, and soon thereafter becoming engaged to Henry Tillney.