Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological development of the protagonist, Catherine Morland. This essay will analyse the language and narrative techniques of the extract, and discuss how it suggests vicissitudes in Catherine’s personal perspectives and relationships. In addition, it will discuss the ‘domestic gothic’ and abuse ubiquitous in ordinary situations. Furthermore, it will argue how Austen’s rhetorical techniques work to encourage reader interest as well as exercising perception when distinguishing between appearance and reality. Finally, it will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the extract within the novel’s wider themes. Austen creates bathos, intertextually …show more content…
‘My dear Eleanor,’ and, ‘do not be so distressed.’ (Austen, 2008). Setting and imagery is important. The word ‘Abbey’ connotes impenetrable gloom. Throughout this excerpt subtle assonance, alliteration, and repetition are evident by words such as ‘breathless, speechless, double, distance.’ These words give the novel a certain pace and sense of urgency. Self-deception signifies one of the main themes of the plot. To portray this Austen creates conflict between Catherine and the General. Catherine is ignorant to the workings of English society and comparable to the novels she reads visualises the General as a typical Gothic villain, who has murdered his wife, and she has paranoid assumptions that everything he does, relates to his guilty …show more content…
Ostensibly, the Generals patriarchal hold over his family accentuates his tyranny, and military training. It also exposes his controlling obsession with timekeeping, ‘Tomorrow morning is fixed for your leaving us, and not even the hour is left to your choice, the very carriage is ordered, and will be here at seven o’clock.’(Austen, 2008). The important crux of the novel is Catherine’s eclaircissement, not only to her own naïvety, but to the oppression under which Eleanor lives, as fantasy, gives way to cruelty, as Eleanor states; ‘After courting you from the protection of real friends to this – almost double distance from your home, to have you driven out of the house, without the considerations even of decent civility…..’ (Austen, 2008). Ultimately, the General’s disregard for Catherine’s safety, and welfare,’ especially on a Sunday and to a clergyman’s daughter with no money’ (AA316, CD2,) acts as an epiphany for Austen’s Bildungsroman as Catherine comes of age, and awakens to the reality of the General’s cruel totalitarianism. The extract denotes motif in Austen’s didactic novel, and depicts the moral lesson of self-deception. Hence, Catherine realises that she has been not only insulted, but endangered, as she is not a woman of property. The connection between wealth and her physical security becomes frighteningly apparent.
Emily Bronte used various figures of speech to relate commonly known ideas to less known concepts. Catherine, alike to other family members, had rage and had it shown through the parallelism, “... though possessed of keen wit, keen feelings, and a keen temper, too, if irritated” (Bronte 99). The parallelism and repetition is effective in listing Catherine’s characteristics, all the while connecting it to the theme. In the simile, “ I’ll crush his ribs in like a rotten hazel-nut before I cross the threshold!” (Bronte 114), is said by Mr. Linton to Catherin to explain his jealousy and motive to kill Heathcliff.
During the Victorian Era, women were expected to be demure, asexual and obedient and society confined their roles to mothers and wives. The subject of the dramatic monologue, however on several occasions appears to defy these conventions and establishes herself to a certain extent as an independent woman from which there occurs conflict as the Duke resents this strength of nature and instead desires to control her. The Victorian ideal that women were property is embodied in the quote, ‘twas not/Her husband’s presence only, called that spot’ where the Duke suggests that he should have sole ownership and control in her life, and he would be the only man who was of any importance to her. This concept of ownership and property is reinforced throughout the dramatic monologue where the first line, ‘That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall’ which illustrates a possessive nature borne out of his supposed masculine superiority. The Duke views the Duchess as an object, more valuable and pleasing to him when inanimate than alive, the adjective ‘last’ also creates the impression that the Duke has had many wives and they were all similarly disposed of, treated like throwaway items rather than human beings.
" This is a result of context because 18th Century England was a period of time where women were marginalized and considered to be subservient to men. Her subservient nature is hyperbolized to show that she easily swayed by the will of her husband. This paints her in a weak light and makes the reader feel as the danger is directed towards her because she is exposed to the volatile nature of her husband. Isabella too is in constant danger because of Manfred’s obsession to marry her. “I desired you once before,” said Manfred angrily, ...
Moreover, the protagonists, Heathcliff and Catherine, are happy when they do not follow the conventions of the society ,however, they were oppressed when they follow them. The scene when Heathcliff comes back proves that Catherine’s happiness is only apparent. Her Transformation
Of course, one almost intuitively understands that the novel’s leading women adhere rather closely to socio-gender norms; both Adeline and Clara, the two women who most represent Radcliffe’s idealized morality, are traditionally beautiful, focus on emotional intelligence via poetry and music rather than on scientific pursuits, and represent the appealing innocence of ingénues. In the same manner that Adeline’s unconsciousness contributes to her integrity, it also appears that her extensive physical beauty results in part from her inherent saintliness, her beautiful eyes linked to some intrinsic purity (7). Further highlighting this ethical preference for femininity, Adeline exhibits fear related directly to the presence of men; in the Marquis’s chateau, her terror specifically abates when she realizes that “elegant” and “beautiful” women surround her, and later the inverse occurs as she balks in fear at “the voices of men” (158, 299). On some level, Adeline seems to recognize that masculinity poses a significant threat to her, and instinctively shies away from its
This symbolizes a shift in the way of being, that is characteristic of the Musgroves as they are described by Austen; “ the Musgroves - like their houses were in a state of alteration, perhaps of improvement” (60). They had replaced elegance with humility, and the stuffy furniture of the well-to-do with utensils that brought their family joy, even in disarray with their “little tables placed in every direction” (60). The bustles of Uppercross help create a setting for the Anne Elliott to discover the truth about what makes people worthy and what does not, it is here that she realizes that person worth in in their character rather than their rank and position. The Great Houses interior had been touched by its youth, becoming increasingly “modern” and therefore becoming more warm and welcoming. Rather than being stationary parallel to Kellynch Hall in its possessions, the house moved forward, loosing its classic elegance, however, Austen opens up the question that if the house loosing its elegance is ultimately a bad thing in this changing
English 348 Mid-Term Exam: Domesticity and the Gothic in Jane Eyre and Bleak House In Brontë’s novel, dreams and uncanny doubles reflect Jane’s frustration with her imprisonment as well as her subconscious feminist desires. Dickens, by applying traditional Gothic concepts to both modern and domestic settings, paints a scathing picture of the disorder, hypocrisy, and indifference of Victorian England. These works acknowledge that very real threats exist within seemingly secure settings, and use Gothic elements to both reinforce and challenge the validity of the moral attitudes and behaviors illustrated within them. It is ultimately suggested that a balance between emotion and logic is necessary to gain the most accurate version of the truth,
I can not seem to get Elizabeth’s attention for more than a second without her looking at me the way she does. She looks at me as though she might never forgive me and it really hurts me inside to know I have caused her so much pain. I enter my house with my gun after a long day in the woods planting crops. I lay my gun against the wall and make my way to the kitchen quietly listening to Elizabeth’s soft voice singing our beloved children to sleep. I see a pot in the fireplace and go give the soup a taste.
In Victorian society, women had the choice between two roles: the pure woman or the fallen woman. Bram Stoker plays with these anxieties revolving around female sexuality – he follows the gothic tradition of innocent damsel in distress against looming evil. The narrative structure Stoker imploys to the text through intertextuality reveals multiple point of view distinguishing a duality in Lucy - her true self and 'thing'. In order to cope with Lucy’s worsening condition, the male authoritative figures of the text assign a duality present in Lucy to make sense of her shifting from “pure woman” to “fallen woman”. Stoker exhibits in the structure of the multi-faceted narrative how certain characters are unable to cope with the duality present
The governess’s first thoughts after seeing Peter Quint are to compare her situation to the plots of two popular gothic novels with romantic heroines, Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre—the latter about a governess who marries her employer, which we know to be this governess’s fantasy. However, the effect of these references is not to make the governess’s story seem more like those novels, but just the opposite. The fact that she is inclined to see herself in terms of these gothic romances reminds us that this is not a romance; that those are fantasies rather than reality; and that even though we know that what we are reading is a work of fiction, it’s a work of realistic fiction.
Beyond the rarely trodden paths of the moors, several mystical conduits run between the heavenly Thrushcross Grange and the hellish Wuthering Heights. Dreams, memories, wishes, and spirits pervade the narrative of Wuthering Heights, and these mystical experiences regularly serve as escape mechanisms for the novel’s female characters. Catherine Earnshaw Linton clings to her childhood memories of the moors and Wuthering Heights, and her daughter imagines a wild paradise away from society. In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë describes these mystical experiences of her female characters with words contrasting the prison of civilized society and the freedom of the wild moors to convey that women can only be free in a wilderness untainted by society.
This quote holds literary significance because it provides characterization for Heathcliff and Catherine. The quote provides insight into Heathcliff 's motives for his cruel behavior and informs the reader of his miserable emotional condition. It also characterizes Catherine by displaying how cruel and vengeful she is capable of being. The quote not only provides insight into Heathcliff’s lonely existence but it also shows the true extent of the cruelty that Catherine is capable of.
The author describes her father as “a very respectable man” with “a considerable independence” and her mother as “a woman of use plain sense, with a good temper” and “with a good constitutional”; both of their characteristics are very ordinary and expected which makes Catherine’s odd character a rebellious one. The author describes Catherine’s life “as plain
The women in Sense and Sensibility were more interested in obtaining a husband due to financial difficulties than that of a good education. Gender stereotypes are seen throughout this novel, as educational success was only deemed important for the more superior men. Social orders reflect the differences in social class and gender. We see Austen use the economic position of women to show the powerlessness they had which underlies the pressure of marriage and the vulnerability
As a result many gothic subtitles appear, and it is true to regard Rebecca as ‘detective mystery’ since it includes a murder case. 25 4.3.2 The Setting and Weather The most eminent gothic elements revolve around the setting, Manderley. The setting in this story has a major contribution to the tone and mood of gothic. Rebecca is a classical- modern gothic literature.