Villainess of Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey, being a Gothic parody, does not contain any true heroes or villains in the traditional sense (i.e. Kirk vs. Khan, Thor vs. Loki).  If you were, however, to pick a villain--the Google definition of which is “the person or thing responsible for specified trouble, harm, or damage”--, it would likely be Isabella, with Catherine being the hero pitted against her. While her disdain for Catherine may not be clearly apparent to Catherine herself, it is clearly apparent to the reader.

Isabella begins by befriending Catherine. She says and does most everything that Catherine wants to see and hear and makes it a point to show off her superior graces and charms. Catherine is quickly taken in by this, allowing Isabella to become closer to her and see her flaws and quirks more clearly and to take advantage of her innocence. “Make yourself easy, there is no danger of that, for I heard Tilney hallooing to a man who was just passing by on horseback, that they were going as far as Wick Rocks” (69). Here, Isabella takes clear advantage of Catherine’s innocence and naivete by intentionally lying to her about Mr. Tilney, telling her that he isn’t coming to pick her up for a walk at all, he’s instead taking a carriage ride elsewhere without her. Because of this lie, Catherine gives up waiting for Mr. Tilney and his sister and goes with Isabella and Mr. Thorpe. This lie causes Catherine serious emotional pain and guilt, especially once she sees Mr. Tilney and Miss Tilney on their way to Mrs. Allen’s to pick her up. She tries to rectify the problem to no avail when Mr. Thorpe refuses to stop the carriage and spurs the horses on faster, only making her feel worse. To add to her guilt, Catherine was not even able to see the castle that the Thorpe’s told her she would be seeing.

This lie, among many others and other fraudulent claims and sympathies from Isabella, make her Catherine’s villain. Like the Google definition, Isabella is “the person or thing responsible for [the] specified trouble, harm, [and] damage” against Catherine. She continually does whatever she can to make Catherine feel generally terrible or more unsure of herself than she already is, and she does so without scruple.