Free Indirect Discourse In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

Through close readings of several passages from Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility, this paper aims to discuss free indirect discourse and address how Jane Austen incorporates it to provide more intimate characterization of her characters.

Narrators play an important role in any story because they, while conveying the narrative, are allowed to control the information and how it is provided to readers. For the most part, while narrators are generally trusted to impart accurate information, as an intermediary, they prevent readers from directly connecting to the characters. Even in the case of third person omniscient narrators, narrators act as a filter, and thus, dialogue and events may be edited, and some details may be lost or altered

One key instance this occurs is when Catherine is visiting the Tilneys and she is swept up in her own gothic fantasy where she’s rather convinced that Mr. Tilney has feigned his wife’s death and is confining her somewhere in Northanger Abbey: “... Something was to be done which could be done only while the household slept; and the probability that Mrs. Tilney yet lived, shut up for causes unknown, and receiving from the pitiless hands of her husband a nightly supply of coarse food, was the conclusion which necessarily followed” (129). Here, the narration bleeds into Catherine’s thoughts just as they are, without any filter. According to Catherine, her thoughts reach a “conclusion which necessarily followed,” which is probably something the narrator does not agree with. When Catherine’s thoughts are directly showcased in this way, it is more personal than a narrator retelling her thoughts. Through the seamlessness from third person narration to Catherine’s direct thoughts emphasizes her voice. Moreover, her absurd faith in gothic fantasies are further highlighted. For example, Catherine’s use of “necessarily” suggests her firm belief in her suspicions: that according to her calculations,

Through the narrator, Elinor is presented as a very sensible, rational character, especially compared to her more emotional and expressive sister Marianne. Thus, through free indirect discourse, Austen allows Elinor’s thoughts to be presented in an unfiltered, honest way. When she learns that Edward has been engaged to Lucy, the narrator states that Elinor “was mortified, shocked, and confounded” (98). Despite the narrator’s efforts to explain Elinor’s emotional status, it is more like the narrator is “telling” readers, rather than “showing.” Interestingly, this seems to reflect Elinor’s overall demeanor of barely revealing her emotions. However, soon after, through free indirect discourse, readers are shown Elinor’s internal monologue regarding Edward’s engagement: “Had Edward been intentionally deceiving her? Had he feigned a regard for her which he did not feel? Was his engagement to Lucy, an engagement of the heart? No… His affection was all her own. She could not be deceived in that” (99). Here, Austen’s use of direct questions and exclamations through free indirect discourse imitate characters’ speech patterns. In other words, the narrator takes a step back and Elinor’s voice takes over the narration. For a moment, the narration almost becomes first person and