Burlesque And Realism In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen satirizes Gothic novels of her day through burlesque and realism to advocate the superiority of ordinary life to fantasy in Northanger Abbey. The novel mocks the unrealistic and impossible sappiness of romance novels. In contrast, the novel is a true reflection of life and explores the truth of late eighteenth century English high society. The reader triumphs in the relatability of Catherine’s character as a new type of heroine, hat is ordinary and realistic. Austen ascertains that Gothic novels undervalue life and that life can be better than fantasy. The reader experiences the development of Catherine’s character throughout the book as she is educated on, and begins to learn, the ways of the real world. Austen also demonstrates …show more content…
Realism is the basis of the entire novel and Austen’s accuracy can be seen in the portrayal of people and events in Bath’s. Appearances and social status was very important to many of the characters, with money being the most coveted possession. Many characters are driven by greed and their desire to advance in high society. To illustrate, one can look at General Tilney and his obsession with money and prestige. General Tilney cared immensely about money; it was what motivated him to invite Catherine to Northanger Abbey in the first place. General Tilney had been under the impression that Catherine was rich when he had tried to set her up with his son. Similarly, the General married his daughter for money, and made sure his home was as extravagant as possible to impress his guests and show his wealth. Isabelle Thorpe was another character who cared greatly about money and standing. During her time in bath, Isabelle was only concerned with finding the richest suitor to marry. Mrs. Allen was very superficial as well; she was only interested in her dresses and often gossiped about other women’s dresses because it reflected the amount of money they had and their corresponding place in the social hierarchy. It was an extremely accurate portrayal of the superficial society Austen lived in, demonstrating her talent for realism, yet again. Additionally, Bath was full of imperfect people who were deceitful and selfish. Catherine saw, for the first time in her life, dishonest people and she consequently had to learn that most people were too preoccupied with trying to be better than everyone to be sincere. For instance, John Thorpe was always incessantly bragging and lying to others in an attempt to gain their admiration or favor. The depiction of characters as flawed was true to English high society where most people only worried about themselves and were willing to do anything to advance