Abstract
Northanger Abbey is so loaded with irony that its main antagonist is someone we would never suspect. This hidden adversary maneuvers Catherine Morland into a conflict. The conflict seems a creation of the protagonist’s overactive imagination. However, the novel drops enough clues to indicate Henry Tilney willfully manipulates Catherine to produce the conflict. Finally, several hints in the novel suggest this same person also narrates it, thus sealing the novel’s irony.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Suzanne Ferriss
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-4-2008 12:00 AM
End Date
4-4-2008 12:00 AM
The Real Antagonist in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey
Alvin Sherman Library
Northanger Abbey is so loaded with irony that its main antagonist is someone we would never suspect. This hidden adversary maneuvers Catherine Morland into a conflict. The conflict seems a creation of the protagonist’s overactive imagination. However, the novel drops enough clues to indicate Henry Tilney willfully manipulates Catherine to produce the conflict. Finally, several hints in the novel suggest this same person also narrates it, thus sealing the novel’s irony.
