Northanger Abbey Part I

Northanger Abbey written by Jane Austen has been much more enjoyable than Romance of the Forest and Castle of Otranto combined!  Jane Austen's novel is a parody of Gothic literature, which is a type of literature that was a trend during the 18th century and early part of the 19th century.  Catherine is the "heroine" of the novel even though, "no one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be a heroine" (Austen 8).  Catherine from the start is your unconventional heroine who naive and innocence is readily apparent.  When she heads to Bath with Mr. and Mrs. Allen and meets Isabella, she does not pick up on Isabella's character and difference between her talk and actions.  Isabella represents the aristocrat, focused on money, prestige, and insistence of sustaining their elevated status.  Her brother John, and even Catherine's brother James, represent the upper class in which Catherine finds herself unable to understand.  However, Henry and Eleanor represent the wealthy, but "real" people not focused on material and superficial things, which attracts Catherine because that is representative of her true character.

The elements of Gothic literature are apparent in Northanger Abbey, but are greatly parodied.  For instance, once Isabella heads with Henry and Eleanor to Northanger Abbey with General Tilney, the setting for a Gothic novel is in place.  Catherine's imagination runs wild as she imagines what "hidden terrors" lie within the abbey and one evening finds what she thinks to be an old manuscript of a dead person like in Romance of the Forest, but it end up just being laundry lists and bills.  Northanger Abbey seems to be directing most of its sarcasm and parody at Romance of the Forest.  The missing mother is again found in this novel.  Catherine's imagination runs wild as she thinks that Miss Tilney has been murdered at Northanger Abbey by the General, which may be the major reason for her not being able to enter her room.  One thing is apparent though, Catherine is slowly losing her innocence and is beginning to understand those around her and read into others, specially Isabella who is unhappy with James's meager inheritance and thus decides to flirt with General Tilney (the oldest brother).  I'm curious to see how the novel will end and what other elements of Gothic literature will be parodied by Jane Austen.

Romance of the Forest Part II

Romance of the Forest finally became interesting in the second half of the book.  I can't believe that the Marquis really just wanted to kill Adeline the whole time.  The adventure of Adeline to meet La Luc and travel with them is classic female Gothic Literature as the heroine usually goes on a journey.  She also has the chance to save Theodore and does with her elevated status.  The last 50 pages was almost a whirlwind as everything is revealed.  The events leading up to the climax were much more heightened than in Castle of Otranto.  It was interesting to see that even after she obtained all her money, Adeline was a different kind of aristocrat.  Since she came from nothing, she was not obsessed with money, but used it to help others and it was not her primary aim in life.  However, Romance of the Forest, like all good Gothic novels, ends with a marriage, since that is considered the end of a woman's life.

Romance of the Forest is definitely more developed than Castle of Otranto.  The plot development took longer and it read more like a novel  from today.  However, paraphrasing was in quotes and there was no separation of paragraphs when a character spoke, demonstrating the novel still has a while to evolve into what it is today.  Romance of the Forest does have heightened passions and supernatural elements, but they are more subdued than in Castle of Otranto, and most of them are explained after they happen.  I am interested to see how this book will compare to Northranger Abbey.

Romance of the Forest: Part 1

Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe is set in the 17th century and reads differently from The Castle of Otranto. You can definitely tell that the idea of the novel has evolved as there is more plot build-up and reads more like your traditional novel. The beginning of the novel was very confusing, but I quickly figured out the situation. Ann Radcliffe is very wordy and details all emotions, even when it is unnecessary. The first 50-60 pages was quite boring, but once the Marquis enters the situation and Adeline meets Theodore, the conflict begins and things start to get interesting.

There are a variety of characters in the novel and I find it interesting that the servants are again static characters. I would so far characterize Madame La Motte a stock character and Adeline is definitely a dynamic character. The use of traditional Gothic elements is rampant throughout the novel. The ruined abbey is the perfect location to start the Gothic novel and the dark passageways, fainting females, and supernatural elements demonstrate classic Gothic. I am excited to see what will happen between Adeline and Theodore. I wonder if Adeline rejecting her offers in a time where arranged marriages were still predominant was thought of controversial and am interested to see who she ends up with at the end of the novel.

Castle of Otranto

Castle of Otranto was written by Horace Walpole and was the first Gothic novel. It is set between 1095 and 1243 A.D. in Naples, Italy.  Horace Walpole wrote the novel under a different name, because the notions in the book would have been controversial since he was a member of the House of Commons in Parliament.  I thought the book was enjoyable, but you could definitely tell that Gothic literature has grown and matured over time.  The Castle of Otranto doesn't really have any plot build-up, but almost immediately throws the reader into the middle of the situation.  However, the Castle of Otranto does have dynamic characters, including Isabella, Matilda, and Theodore.  It is interesting to see how the younger generations change their attitude in the Castle of Otranto, while the older generations, Manfred, Hippolita, and Frederic are static characters.  The servants are also static characters. 


The Castle of Otranto deals with two very controversial topics for the time period:  the questioning of authority, and the role of a woman in society.  Matilda is a prime example of questioning of authority, as she is torn between listening to her parents and following her own passions.  Isabella also defies authority by running away from the castle and avoiding Manfred at all costs.  Theodore is the prime example of questioning authority.  He almost represents the new burgeious class, who like Theodore, is becoming powerful and is questioning it's obedience to aristocracy and the monarchy.  The Castle of Otranto also questions the role of women in society.  Hippolita represents the tradtional woman, submitting to the wants of men.  On the other hand, Matilda and Isabella question obedience and the right to forced marriage.  In the end, Matilda ends up submitting to patriarchy, and I don't think Walpole is supporting equal rights.


The Castle of Otranto has many of the main elements of a Gothic novel that set the stage for future Gothic works.  The medieval castle, supernatural elements that disturb characters, and ancestral curses are all found in the Castle of Otranto.  The abnormally sized helmet, corpse of the old hermit, and the destruction of the castle by a huge monster that looked like Alfonso the Good are all supernatural elements.  The element of incest is found throughout the Castle of Otranto.  The idea that Manfred would marry his "daughter" Isabella represents incest.  Last, romanticism is rapant throughout the novel as seen in the language and increased passions felt by all the characters.  I am excited to see how the rest of the books we read this semester will compare to the Castle of Otranto and how they advance and mature the Gothic novel over the centuries.