Catherine

Posted by KathleenB on September 13, 1998 at 13:09:57:

In response to not JA's best..., written by Chael on September 10, 1998 at 20:12:24

] ] If so, I could potentially consider this a step backwards for JA, since her heroines are all very headstrong and independent, and the typical gothic heroine (from what I've encountered so far) is nothing more that an updated damsel in distress.
] ] --J.L.

] Catherine Morland certainly is a departure from JA's other heroines. I thought she was a very weak character, and that was a big part of the reason why I didn't like Northanger Abbey as much as the others.

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IMHO the point of Catherine is that she is a very ordinary girl who is still too young and unexperienced (no TV, rarely left her own village) to distinguish between what she reads about in novels and the reality of teh "outside world". Just think what things we can believe about other countries or cultures if we have no experience of them and someone tells us. Remember, Catherine is much younger than Elizabeth, Anne, Emma or Elinor. She isn't a damsel in distress, just a bit young and unformed. In the course of the book she grows up a bit, learns to value people better (eg sees through the Thorpes) and learns the difference between novels and reality. OK so JA is using a device to criticise the absurdity of the gothic genre but also creating a novel in its own right, which I am not so fond of as the others, but still enjoy.

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REPLIES:

• Defending Myself re: NA J.L. 20:21:38 9/13/98 (5)
  • The Mysteries of Udolpho Silke 07:57:10 9/14/98 (2)
    • Udolpho and NA Constanza 08:52:54 9/14/98 (1)
      • But isn't that part of what JA was trying to get across? SandyW 18:01:34 9/20/98 (0)
  • NA Chael 21:01:24 9/13/98 (1)
    • NA J.L. 07:26:27 9/14/98 (0)

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