by Jane Austen
The anxiety, which in this state of their attachment must be the portion of Henry and Catherine, and of all who loved either, as to its final event, can hardly extend, I fear, to the bosom of my readers, who will see in the tell-tale compression of the pages before them, that we are all hastening together to perfect felicity. The means by which their early marriage was effected can be the only doubt: what probable circumstance could work upon a temper like the General’s? The circumstance which chiefly availed was the marriage of his daughter with a man of fortune and consequence, which took place in the course of the summer—an accession of dignity that threw him into a fit of good humour, from which he did not recover till after Eleanor had obtained his forgiveness of Henry, and his permission for him “to be a fool if he liked it!”
The marriage of Eleanor Tilney, her removal from all the evils of such a home as Northanger had been made by Henry’s banishment, to the home of her choice and the man of her choice, is an event which I expect to give general satisfaction among all her acquaintance. My own joy on the occasion is very sincere. I know no one more entitled, by unpretending merit, or better prepared by habitual suffering, to receive and enjoy felicity. Her partiality for this gentleman was not of recent origin; and he had been long withheld only by inferiority of situation from addressing her. His unexpected accession to title and fortune had removed all his difficulties; and never had the General loved his daughter so well in all her hours of companionship, utility, and patient endurance, as when he first hailed her, “Your Ladyship!” Her husband was really deserving of her; independent of his peerage,hr his wealth, and his attachment, being to a precision the most charming young man in the world. Any further definition of his merits must be unnecessary; the most charming young man in the world is instantly before the imagination of us all. Concerning the one in question therefore I have only to add, (aware that the rules of composition forbid the introduction of a character not connected with my fable) 1—that this was the very gentleman whose negligent servant left behind him that collection of washing-bills, resulting from a long visit at Northanger, by which my heroine was involved in one of her most alarming adventures.
The influence of the Viscount and Viscountess in their brother’s behalf was assisted by that right understanding of Mr. Morland’s circumstance which, as soon as the General would allow himself to be informed, they were qualified to give. It taught him that he had been scarcely more misled by Thorpe’s first boast of the family wealth, than by his subsequent malicious overthrow of it; that in no sense of the word were they necessitous or poor, and that Catherine would have three thousand pounds. This was so material an amendment of his late expectations, that it greatly contributed to smooth the descent of his pride; and by no means without its effect was the private intelligence, which he was at some pains to procure, that the Fullerton estate, being entirely at the disposal of its present proprietor, was consequently open to every greedy speculation.
On the strength of this, the General, soon after Eleanor’s marriage, permitted his son to return to Northanger, and thence made him the bearer of his consent, very courteously worded in a page full of empty professions to Mr. Morland. The event which it authorized soon followed: Henry and Catherine were married, the bells rang and every body smiled; and, as this took place within a twelvemonthhs from the first day of their meeting, it will not appear, after all the dreadful delays occasioned by the General’s cruelty, that they were essentially hurt by it. To begin perfect happiness at the respective ages of twenty-six and eighteen is to do pretty well; and professing myself moreover convinced, that the General’s unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to it, by improving their knowledge of each other, and adding strength to their attachment, I leave it to be settled by whomsoever it may concern, whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny, or reward filial disobedience.
Endnotes
CHAPTER I
1 (p. 7) Her father was a clergyman ... and a very respectable man, though his name was Richard: Austen may be alluding playfully to either Richard II or Richard III, protagonists in Shakespeare’s historical tragedies that bear their names. In this case the reference is ambiguous, though Austen often seemed to find some connection (often ironic) between names and the historical figures who bore them. In a letter of October 14, 1813, she wrote: “They say his name is Henry, a proof how unequally the gifts of fortune are bestowed. I have seen many a John or Thomas much more agreeable.”
2 (p. 8) Her mother was three months in teaching her only to repeat the “Beggar’s Petition”: This is a reference to a 1766 poem by the Rev. Thomas Moss; in the poem, addressed to Prime Minister William Pitt, the Elder (1708-1778), a poor old man begs for aid.
3 (p. 8) she learnt the fable of “The Hare and many Friends,” as quickly as any girl in England: Austen is referring to a fable written by John Gay ( 1685-1732 ) , who is best known as the author of The Beggar’s Opera. This fable is a warning about having too many friends and being unable to rely on any of them.
4 (p. 10) From Pope, she learnt to censure those who “bear about the mockery of woe. ”...—“like Patience on a monument / Smiling at Grief”: These are quotes and near-quotes from a variety of English writers. The first is from a poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744), “Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady.” The next (“Many a flower ...”) is from “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard,” by Thomas Gray ( 1716-1771 ) . The third example is from “Spring” in The Seasons, by James Thomson ( 1700-1748) . The final quotes are from William Shakespeare ( 1564-1616) : “Trifles light as air” is spoken by lago in Othello (act 3, scene 3); the lines beginning “the poor beetle” are spoken by Isabella in Measure for Measure (act 3, scene 1); and the lines beginning “like Patience” by Viola in Twelfth-Night; Or, What You Will (act 2, scene 4).
5 (p. 11) There was not one family among their acquaintance who had ... supported a boy accidentally found at their door. This is possibly a reference to Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749). Austen was not fond of Fielding’s “indecent” side.
CHAPTER III
1 (p. 21) “I danced with a very agreeable young man, introduced by Mr. King”: As master of ceremonies, Mr. King not only made sure people danced in order of social status but also maintained a guest book where visitors left their names and addresses while in Bath. Catherine Morland will look up the Tilneys’ address in the guest book in chapter XII, p. 84.
2 (p. 24) no young lady can be justified in falling in love before the gentleman’s love is declared: Here a footnote by Austen reads: “Vide [see] a letter from Mr. Richardson, No. 97, vol. ii, Rambler.” The Rambler was a periodical published by Samuel Johnson between 1750 and 1752. It dealt with miscellaneous subjects, from literary criticism to character study.
CHAPTER V
1 (p. 29) again was Catherine disappointed in her hope of re-seeing her partner. He was no where to be met with: A similar situation occurs in A Sicilian Romance ( 1790 ) , by Ann Radcliffe ( 1764-1823) . Austen ironically juxtaposes scenes from romance with scenes in Catherine Morland’s life to show how fiction warps her perception of reality.
2 (p. 32) some dozen lines of Milton, Pope, and Prior: Austen refers here to three well-known English writers. John Milton (1608-1674), considered one of the greatest writers in English literature, is best known for the epic poem Paradise Lost. Alexander Pope ( 1688-1744) wrote the satirical poem The Dunciad. Matthew Prior ( 1664-1721 ) was a lyric poet and a diplomat.
3 (p. 32) with a paper from the Spectator: From March 1711 until December 1712, Joseph Addison and Richard Steele produced a daily periodical comprising essays purportedly written by a Mr. Spectator, a fictitious Londoner who commented on manners, morals, and literature.
4 (p. 32) a chapter from Sterne : Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) wrote the multi-volume novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy.
5 (p. 32) “Oh! It is only a novel
! ... It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda”: Austen refers here to three novels noteworthy for their commentary on contemporary society. Fanny Burney (Madame d‘Arblay) wrote both Cecilia; Or, Memoirs of an Heiress (1782) and Camilla ; Or, a Picture of Youth (1796) and was one of the first English novelists to use a girl’s first encounters with society as a subject. The Anglo-Irish writer Maria Edgeworth authored the novel Belinda (1801), which Austen is said to have admired.
CHAPTER VI
1 (p. 33) “what have you been doing with yourself all this morning?—Have you gone on with Udolpho?”: Isabella is asking about the gothic romance novel The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), by Ann Radcliffe.
2 (p. 34) “what is behind the black veil.... I am sure it is Laurentina’s skeleton”: Emily, Radcliffe’s heroine in The Mysteries of Udolpho, discovers a wax figure behind the veil and thinks it’s a corpse. Lau rentina is Signora Laurentini, an evil character in the same romance.
3 (p. 34) “when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together’: The Italian: Or, the Confessional of the Black Penitents (1797) is another of Mrs. Radcliffe’s romance novels, this one dealing with the Inquisition.
4 (p. 34) ”here they are, in my pocket-book. Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont, Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries“: Catherine is reciting a list of popular romance novels of the period: Eliza Parson’s Castle of Wolfenbach (1793); Clermont: A Tale (1798), by Regina Maria Roche; Mysterious Warnings (1796), also by Eliza Parsons; The Necromancer; Or, the Tale of the Black Forest: Founded on Facts (1794), by Lawrence Flammenberg; The Midnight Bell: A German Story Founded on Incidents in Real Life (1798), by Francis Lathom; Eleanor Sleath’s The Orphan of the Rhine: A Romance (1798); and Horrid Mysteries: A Story from the German of the Marquis of Grosse (1796), by Carl Grosse.
5 (p. 34) ” for a particular friend of mine, a Miss Andrews“: Pamela Andrews is the heroine of Samuel Richardson’s Pamela ; Or, Virtue Rewarded (1740). The reference here to ”Miss Andrews“ may have been an in-joke between Austen and the readers of her day.
6 (p. 35) ”She very often reads Sir Charles Grandison herself. “... ”That is an amazing horrid book“: The novel Sir Charles Grandison (1753-1754), by Samuel Richardson, tells the story of a model eighteenth-century gentleman. When Isabella Thorpe asks if it is ”horrid,“ she is referring not to the delightful chills of gothic romances, but to the boring moralism of Richardson’s novel.
CHAPTER VII
1 (p. 43) ”Novels are all so full of nonsense ... there has not been a tolerably decent one come out since Tom Jones, except the Monk“: The Monk (1796) is a gothic romance by Matthew Gregory Lewis. Austen may be playfully comparing the monk Ambrosio’s infatuation with a young woman (whom he ultimately murders) with John Thorpe’s pursuit of Catherine Morland.
2 (p. 43) ”I was thinking of that other stupid book.“ ... ”I suppose you mean Camilla!“: See note 5 to chapter V. Like Northanger Abbey, Burney’s Camilla is a novel about a young woman’s entry into society and her eventual marriage. John Thorpe is suspicious of Burney for having married General d‘Arblay, a French refugee in England, in 1793.
CHAPTER IX
1 (p. 55) she sat quietly down to her book after breakfast, resolving to remain in the same place and the same employment till the clock struck one: Note the textual muddle: Just a few lines above, Catherine vows to be in the Pump-room at noon.
2 (p. 58) a fine mild day of February: This is one of the novel’s rare references to month or season. For other references, see note 3 to chapter XXII and note 1 to chapter XXIX.
3 (p. 58) ”Old Allen is as rich as a Jew“: John Thorpe’s anti-Semitism reflects his spendthrift ways, which would oblige him to borrow money. Moneylenders were often Jews, needed but despised.
CHAPTER XI
1 (p. 76) ”Oh! that we had such weather here as they had at Udolpho“: Catherine refers here to the setting of Ann Radcliffe’s romance novel The Mysteries of Udolpho ( 1794) . In this chapter, Catherine’s fusing of fiction with reality intensifies. The possibility of visiting a castle (pp. 77-79) like the ones in the gothic romances en-thralls her.
2 (p. 76) ”the night that poor St. Aubin“: Catherine muddles the last name of Monsieur St. Aubert, father of Emily, the heroine of The Mysteries of Udolpho.
CHAPTER XIV
1 (p. 101) ”Miss Morland, he is treating you exactly as he does his sister“: Henry Tilney’s treatment of Catherine is a sign that their relationship will go beyond infatuation or passion.
2 (p. 101 ) ”He is for ever finding fault with me.... or we shall be overpowered with Johnson and Blair all the rest of the way“: Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), one of Austen’s favorite authors, was the compiler of the Dictionary of the English Language, often referred to as Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary. Scottish clergyman Hugh Blair (1718-1800) authored Lectures on Rhetoric and five volumes of celebrated sermons.
3 (p. 102) ”If a speech be well drawn up, I read it with pleasure, ... if the production of Mr. Hume or Mr. Robertson“: The Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776) was also the author of The History of Great Britain. William Robertson (1721-1793), also a Scot, wrote The History of Scotland, During the Reigns of Queen Mary and of James VI and The History of the Reign of Emperor Charles V. Historians often wrote speeches for historical figures. Austen may also be including a family joke; she had produced the facetious History of England: From the Reign of Henry the 4th to the Death of Charles the 1st as a holiday amusement in 1791.
4 (p. 102) ”than if the genuine words of Caractacus, Agricola, or Alfred the Great“: Caractacus, or Caradoc, an early British king, led a rebellion against Rome and was taken there as a prisoner in A.D. 51. Gnaeus Julius Agricola (A.D. 37?-93) was Roman governor of Britain. Alfred the Great (849-901), king of Wessex, revived literacy in southwest England.
5 (p. 104) The advantages of natural folly in a beautiful girl have been already set forth by the capital pen of a sister author: Austen here refers to Fanny Burney and her novel Camilla. See note 5 to chapter V.
6 (p. 106) ”gallant Capt. Frederick Tilney“ : This is the brother of Henry and Eleanor, introduced in Henry’s mock-romance: He combines Catherine’s ambiguous news about a new gothic novel soon to arrive with Eleanor’s fears that a riot may break out in London which her brother may be called upon to crush.
CHAPTER XV
1 (p. 115) ”I am glad you are no enemy to matrimony however.... I say, you will come to Belle’s wedding, I hope“: Weddings at the time were not the matters of great pomp and circumstance that they came to be.
2 (p. 116) ”Not but that I shall be down again by the end of a fortnight“: In other words: ”Of course I’ll be back in two weeks.“
3 (p. 117) she hurried away, leaving him to the undivided consciousness of his own happy address: In other words, John Thorpe was aware only that he was courting Catherine Morland, sounding her out about marriage.
CHAPTER XVI
1 (p. 123) He cannot be the instigator of the three villains in horsemen’s great coats, by whom she will hereafter be forced into a travelling chaise and four: The narrator falls into the mode of gothic romance, complete with a damsel in distress. This melodrama is deflated in chapters XXVIII and XXIX, when General Tilney, having learned Catherine Morland is no heiress, summarily expels her from Northanger Abbey.
CHAPTER XVII
1 (p. 132) Northanger Abbey having been a richly endowed convent at the time of the Reformation: In the sixteenth-century, a movement began that came to be known as the Reformation. Originally a criticism of certain practices of the Catholic Church, it ended with the establishment of Protestantism.
CHAPTER XX
1 (p. 149) ”This is just like a book!“: Starting on page 148, Austen interpolates material from several of Ann Radcliffe’s romances, especially The Mysteries of Udolpho. That novel also features a housekeeper named Dorothy (Dorothée) and a gloomy chamber ; its heroine, Emily
, resembles a portrait. Here, and on the next page, Henry Tilney also includes references to Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest ( 1791 ) : the tunnel, the lute, the dagger, the cabinet, and the sheaf of papers. Matildas (p. 150) also abound in gothic romances, from Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764) to Sophia Lee’s The Recess ( 1785) .
2 (p. 150) ”Oh! no, no—do not say so. Well, go on“: Catherine is intrigued by Henry’s pastiche melodrama, like a child listening to a bedtime story who wants to hear it all. The charm of the gothic romance is the reader’s (or listener’s) participation in the dangers of the heroine or hero.
3 (p. 152) The fire-place, where she had expected the ample width and ponderous carving of former times, was contracted to a Rumford: Sir Benjamin Thompson, count von Rumford (1753-1814), reformed fireplace design in order to provide more heat. Thompson’s Essays: Political, Economical, and Philosophical appeared in 1796.
4 (p. 152) he stopped short, to pronounce it with surprize within twenty minutes of five!: General Tilney eats his dinner at five, so everyone must hurry to dress for dinner.
CHAPTER XXI
1 (p. 153) when her eye suddenly fell on a large high chest: Here is yet another fixture of gothic literature, the mysterious chest, this one borrowed from Radcliffe’s The Romance of the Forest (1791). The phrase ”midnight assassins or drunken gallants“ on page 156 derives from Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho.
CHAPTER XXII
1 (p. 164) He... thought it right to encourage the manufacture of his country; ... the tea was as well flavoured from the clay of Staffordshire as from that of Dresden or Sèvres: General Tilney expresses his patriotism by buying Wedgwood china made in Staffordshire factories and disdaining German or French china, which would probably be much more expensive. He also refers to his as an ”old set, purchased two years ago,“ which is Austen’s ironic comment about the General’s preference for modern things.