CaptainHatteras
12-04-2009, 02:52 AM
I'd me much obliged if anyone would proof read an essay I just wrote that needs to be handed in tomorrow (Friday) morning. Considering the time when I'm posting this it is unlikely that I'll get any responses.
I realize that it's somewhat forced writing because it is but I'm primarily concerned with grammar at the moment, because I'm falling asleep and just can't think straight right now.
The essay is on Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, the prompt asked to explain how Jane Austen responds to Augustan Rationalism and in what manner is this novel Gothic. Thanks for any input!
Northanger Abbey: Gothic tendencies and revision of Rationalism
The Northanger Abbey follows the Gothic tradition of rejecting and responding to Augustan Rationalism. Jane Austen, however, accomplishes this in ways different from a typical Gothic story of the late 18th century. The novel consists of events and ideas that breakaway from the conventional social order; it does so without resorting to the supernatural.
Rejection of the traditional literary order is evident from the very nature of the heroine. The latter is a provincial girl without any significance to her at all. She is average is every respect; in wealth, looks and intelligence. She lacks both horror and glory about herself, which is unusual for a Gothic novel, yet, at the same time, is at odds with pre-Romantic period Rationalism.
The entire novel has a simple and provincial air about it, breaking away from the contemporary standards of literary praise. It is in contradiction with both Augustan Rationalism and Romanticism by breaking ties with the conventional setting. One of the most vivid examples of this breakaway is in heroines love relationship. Catherine falls in love with Henry long before Mr.Tilney even considers Ms.Morlond to be a potential mate. She fantasizes of him immediately after her first encounter with the future husband. Such behavior was not only uncommon but, more importantly, inappropriate during Jane Austen’s age. The author uses such incidents to drift away from everything traditional, yet doing so in a rational, plausible manner.
The same criticism of the established social order is witnessed in the entire character of General Tilney. He is portrayed as a man preoccupied with financial standing of the family. Jane Austen emphasizes how ridiculously pleasant he is to Catherine at the time when he believes her to be rich, a conduct which is followed by a sharp change of attitude after learning that she is far from being a member of an affluent family. Austen is mocking the old ways in a satirical style.
Although the Northanger Abbey provides an innovative response to Augustan Rationalism, it persists to do so from Gothic perspective. Throughout the novel Jane Austen builds up the Gothic suspense, inserting circumstantial Gothic elements along the way. The very title of the novel is intentionally misleading. The author meant for her potential readers to expect the typical Gothic setting in this novel; an abbey, perhaps abandoned and in ruins. Abbeys symbolized the mysterious past, often connected with foreign, Catholic countries. An experienced reader of the Gothic literature, upon reading the title of this novel, expects dark chambers with legends of some tragic events.
In reality, however, this cannot be further from the truth. The real Northanger Abbey is largely a reconstructed, modern residence. The only Gothic aspect of it is the Catherine’s imagination that that desperately craves some mystery and terror to supply her with sublime feeling, a feeling that she apparently lacked in her uneventful life. Jane Austen keeps her readers in suspense by keeping some Gothic allusions and elements alive in her heroine.
As different as Catherine is from the typical Gothic damsels in distress, she is still a young, innocent girl that is detached from an immediate parental supervision and protection. From this alone, one expects her virtues and naivety to be exploited by other characters with malicious intentions. Readers are led to expect her innocence to be violated, in one way or another.
The character of Catherine can be interpreted as derived from Gothic novels, in a satirical interpretation, and placed in a rational, realistic setting. The consequence is a clash of youthful craving for the marvelous with reality with which Catherine is initially less adapt to deal with than with the imagined.
The reality, as Catherine learns, is cruel in its own way. Her imagination throws her on a false scent of murder, a theory that she readily accepts while remaining completely oblivious to the real dark stain on general Tilney’s character. Eventually we learn that general Tilney judges people based on their financial situation. Thus, Catherine learns to distinguish imaginary horrors with real life disillusions. A transformation that can be applied to Northanger Abbey as a novel that bridges rationalism with the Gothic.
Catherine’s every expectation of a Gothic setting or event is marked by a satirical realization of reality. When Isabella and John urge Catheirne to visit a castle nearby, she is excited, as her imagination feeds her brain with images of ancient chambers full of mysteries. As she clings on to this fantasy, a reality of different nature and direction reveals itself to her, that her friends are, perhaps, not genuine nor are they good natured. This relation between fantasy and reality is guides Catherine to her maturity.
The incident at the Northanger Abbey when Catherine finds water bills instead of an ancient manuscript signifies that she needs experience in order to mature. This is one of the lessons of the novel, that maturity does not come out of thin air, rather from being exposed to fate.
Gothic, as a literary movement, is also a tool that Jane Austen uses to reveal everyone’s inner cravings. This is particularly evident in the discussions that take place between Catherine Morland and Isabella Thorpe when talk about specific Gothic novels. These conversations are brought up on several occasions and are a significant to the understanding of the novel. The readers are shown that everyone, no matter how different, craves for the marvelous and the mysterious. It is part of the human nature.
Differences between Catherine and Isabella can be interpreted as polar opposites. Catherine is average looking, sincere, naďve and inexperienced. Isabella, on the other hand, is older, taller, good looking, conceited, vain, deceptive and experienced in the art of social interactions. Their aims and goals in life are unconditionally different. Catherine wants to fall in love, in a traditional sense, much like in the romantic novels she was probably reading. Isabella, however, wants to marry in order to increase her financial situation. Yet, regardless of these differences, they are united in their passion for Gothic novels.
Henry Tilney and John Thorpe are also readers of the Gothic novels. The differences of their explanation given on the subject reveal the different perceptions of the genre in the real world. John is ashamed of reading them, publicly pronounces them to be unworthy of reading and yet we learn that he has read as much of them as anyone who declares a positive opinion of the Gothic. Henry is the alternative voice of the male population that, he is secure enough to declare his positive opinion of the novels. The differences between John and Henry on this subject exemplify the alternative receptions by the male population of the genre that was, perhaps, viewed as belonging to the female sex. Austen exposes the true sentiments of the entire readership, which, evidently, coincides with one another. It is a commentary on the gender relations and their expression from a literary perspective.
I realize that it's somewhat forced writing because it is but I'm primarily concerned with grammar at the moment, because I'm falling asleep and just can't think straight right now.
The essay is on Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, the prompt asked to explain how Jane Austen responds to Augustan Rationalism and in what manner is this novel Gothic. Thanks for any input!
Northanger Abbey: Gothic tendencies and revision of Rationalism
The Northanger Abbey follows the Gothic tradition of rejecting and responding to Augustan Rationalism. Jane Austen, however, accomplishes this in ways different from a typical Gothic story of the late 18th century. The novel consists of events and ideas that breakaway from the conventional social order; it does so without resorting to the supernatural.
Rejection of the traditional literary order is evident from the very nature of the heroine. The latter is a provincial girl without any significance to her at all. She is average is every respect; in wealth, looks and intelligence. She lacks both horror and glory about herself, which is unusual for a Gothic novel, yet, at the same time, is at odds with pre-Romantic period Rationalism.
The entire novel has a simple and provincial air about it, breaking away from the contemporary standards of literary praise. It is in contradiction with both Augustan Rationalism and Romanticism by breaking ties with the conventional setting. One of the most vivid examples of this breakaway is in heroines love relationship. Catherine falls in love with Henry long before Mr.Tilney even considers Ms.Morlond to be a potential mate. She fantasizes of him immediately after her first encounter with the future husband. Such behavior was not only uncommon but, more importantly, inappropriate during Jane Austen’s age. The author uses such incidents to drift away from everything traditional, yet doing so in a rational, plausible manner.
The same criticism of the established social order is witnessed in the entire character of General Tilney. He is portrayed as a man preoccupied with financial standing of the family. Jane Austen emphasizes how ridiculously pleasant he is to Catherine at the time when he believes her to be rich, a conduct which is followed by a sharp change of attitude after learning that she is far from being a member of an affluent family. Austen is mocking the old ways in a satirical style.
Although the Northanger Abbey provides an innovative response to Augustan Rationalism, it persists to do so from Gothic perspective. Throughout the novel Jane Austen builds up the Gothic suspense, inserting circumstantial Gothic elements along the way. The very title of the novel is intentionally misleading. The author meant for her potential readers to expect the typical Gothic setting in this novel; an abbey, perhaps abandoned and in ruins. Abbeys symbolized the mysterious past, often connected with foreign, Catholic countries. An experienced reader of the Gothic literature, upon reading the title of this novel, expects dark chambers with legends of some tragic events.
In reality, however, this cannot be further from the truth. The real Northanger Abbey is largely a reconstructed, modern residence. The only Gothic aspect of it is the Catherine’s imagination that that desperately craves some mystery and terror to supply her with sublime feeling, a feeling that she apparently lacked in her uneventful life. Jane Austen keeps her readers in suspense by keeping some Gothic allusions and elements alive in her heroine.
As different as Catherine is from the typical Gothic damsels in distress, she is still a young, innocent girl that is detached from an immediate parental supervision and protection. From this alone, one expects her virtues and naivety to be exploited by other characters with malicious intentions. Readers are led to expect her innocence to be violated, in one way or another.
The character of Catherine can be interpreted as derived from Gothic novels, in a satirical interpretation, and placed in a rational, realistic setting. The consequence is a clash of youthful craving for the marvelous with reality with which Catherine is initially less adapt to deal with than with the imagined.
The reality, as Catherine learns, is cruel in its own way. Her imagination throws her on a false scent of murder, a theory that she readily accepts while remaining completely oblivious to the real dark stain on general Tilney’s character. Eventually we learn that general Tilney judges people based on their financial situation. Thus, Catherine learns to distinguish imaginary horrors with real life disillusions. A transformation that can be applied to Northanger Abbey as a novel that bridges rationalism with the Gothic.
Catherine’s every expectation of a Gothic setting or event is marked by a satirical realization of reality. When Isabella and John urge Catheirne to visit a castle nearby, she is excited, as her imagination feeds her brain with images of ancient chambers full of mysteries. As she clings on to this fantasy, a reality of different nature and direction reveals itself to her, that her friends are, perhaps, not genuine nor are they good natured. This relation between fantasy and reality is guides Catherine to her maturity.
The incident at the Northanger Abbey when Catherine finds water bills instead of an ancient manuscript signifies that she needs experience in order to mature. This is one of the lessons of the novel, that maturity does not come out of thin air, rather from being exposed to fate.
Gothic, as a literary movement, is also a tool that Jane Austen uses to reveal everyone’s inner cravings. This is particularly evident in the discussions that take place between Catherine Morland and Isabella Thorpe when talk about specific Gothic novels. These conversations are brought up on several occasions and are a significant to the understanding of the novel. The readers are shown that everyone, no matter how different, craves for the marvelous and the mysterious. It is part of the human nature.
Differences between Catherine and Isabella can be interpreted as polar opposites. Catherine is average looking, sincere, naďve and inexperienced. Isabella, on the other hand, is older, taller, good looking, conceited, vain, deceptive and experienced in the art of social interactions. Their aims and goals in life are unconditionally different. Catherine wants to fall in love, in a traditional sense, much like in the romantic novels she was probably reading. Isabella, however, wants to marry in order to increase her financial situation. Yet, regardless of these differences, they are united in their passion for Gothic novels.
Henry Tilney and John Thorpe are also readers of the Gothic novels. The differences of their explanation given on the subject reveal the different perceptions of the genre in the real world. John is ashamed of reading them, publicly pronounces them to be unworthy of reading and yet we learn that he has read as much of them as anyone who declares a positive opinion of the Gothic. Henry is the alternative voice of the male population that, he is secure enough to declare his positive opinion of the novels. The differences between John and Henry on this subject exemplify the alternative receptions by the male population of the genre that was, perhaps, viewed as belonging to the female sex. Austen exposes the true sentiments of the entire readership, which, evidently, coincides with one another. It is a commentary on the gender relations and their expression from a literary perspective.