Perhaps one of Catherine’s most striking early traits is her inability to read other people’s actions. Among other things, she accidentally allows John Thorpe to fall in love with her, doesn’t notice Isabella’s relationship with James and lets Henry lead her up the rectory path with stories of ghostly goings on at the Abbey. In spite of her innocence, naivety and gullibility, at the end of the book Catherine emerges as a stronger and wiser person. Her experiences in Bath taught her a lot and although she was at times disappointed and let down (particularly by that horrid little brute, Isabella!) she learnt some valuable life lessons. During the progression of the story, we see Catherine develop and change as she has to let go of her imaginative fictional adventures and enters a world of adult avarice.

The principal theme of NA can be debated: it could merely be seen as an amusing skit on the ‘horrid’ Gothic novels which were so in vogue during JA’s time, and there is certainly a strong satirical tone at the centre of the novel, or it could be taken as a coming of age story, a documentary on a young girl’s progression to adulthood. Personally, I prefer to take it as both. Despite the humour and comedy, I feel that NA has a deeply serious side. In addition to being a light hearted satiric novel, it is also a biting commentary on society’s acceptance of marriage as a financial negotiation.