From Behind A Black Veil: The Unbearable Politeness of Isabella Thorpe

“Oh! I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend my whole life in reading it, I assure you, if it had not been to meet you, I would not have come away from it in all the world.” — Catherine Morland to Isabella Thorpe on “Mysteries of Udolpho”

     And, thus cements the almost sadistic and obsessive relationship between Catherine Morland and Isabella Thorpe. But, it also reflects the nature of reading, as one can become obsessed and feel immersed in a novel, never wanting to put it down. And, it is in this same regard that Catherine treats Isabella, she is only able to put the book down to meet with Isabella, one obsession replaces the other one. When Isabella responds “Dear Creature” to Catherine’s elation over the book, she knows Catherine is her captive.

     Catherine is a naïve, sweet and sensitive young girl in comparison to Isabella, and her introduction to the scandalous and worldly “Mysteries of Udolpho” begins a change in her. This, too, is the nature of books, to expand and inform new ideas and sensations in the reader. Still, Catherine is rapturous and beholden to Isabella’s insights and sophistication, especially regarding what lays behind the “black veil.” Isabella is very titillating about the veil when she says “Are not you wild to know?” This passage is revelatory in that it discloses Isabella’s true nature, for she is hiding behind a black veil of her own making. At this point in the story, it is unclear what Isabella’s motives are, but she clearly revels in enticing Catherine, drawing her further into, what is for now, an imaginary and salacious world. However, it foreshadows Isabella’s own propensity for scandal.

      Later in the same scene, Isabella reads a list of books and ensures that her  “sweetest friend”, Miss Andrews, has read them all, making them a must read for Catherine too. Then, Isabella discloses “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for those who are really my friends”, she is admitting what she longs for “real” friendships. Yet, later in the same passage she tells Catherine, “The men think us incapable of real friendships you know, and I am determined to show them different. Now, if I were to hear anybody speak slightingly of you, I should fire up in a moment…for you are just the kind of girl to be a great favorite with the men.” These could be the words of a friend, but it speaks of an inherent jealousy within Isabella, and alludes to her nature of luring men. Further, it could be construed Isabella’s own fascination for the colorful tales has affected her persona.

        The relationship between Catherine and Isabella represents a time honored rite of a passage for many girls. Whereby, the younger girl is transfixed and transformed by the attention and admiration from the somewhat older girl, only to be slighted, or worse, by the older girl. As with all good stories, the young girl, like Catherine Morland, emerges a heroine in her own right. 

EW Article: "A Billion Dollar Affair"

Also, in light of Northanger Abbey's commentary on romances and "women's literature," here is the article I mentioned last week about how e-readers are bolstering the romance industry in fiction.

http://www.ew.com/article/2014/10/17/billion-dollar-affair/2

Jane Austen and History

“But history, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in. . . I read it a little as a duty, but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars or pestilences, in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all – it is very tiresome: and yet I often think it odd that it should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention. The speeches that are put into the heroes’ mouths, their thoughts and designs – the chief of all this must be invention, and invention is what delights me in other books.” (Emphasis added)

Throughout Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen uses her heroine Catherine Morland as a mouthpiece for satire, situating her as a girl who becomes a heroine in her own gothic novel through her overactive imagination. Because of this satirical bent, Morland is not as distinct a mouthpiece for Austen’s own views about the world as some of her other heroines. However, in this instance, where Catherine passes judgment on history, I believe Austen is using her heroine to express her own views on this particular genre of writing.

Throughout the novel, we see Austen using her characters and her own voice as narrator to champion novel writing and reading. She responds to criticism of novels as a woman’s genre and urges novelists to stick together in support of their form against critics who dismiss it as insipid. Henry Tilney’s generous embrace of the novel furthers this point.

This passage takes an opposite tact and criticizes the historical writing of Austen’s time for lacking precisely what the novel provides. Novels, particularly the gothic novel and romances like Ann Radcliffe’s, were largely considered the domain of women – silly books with outlandish plots. However, what Austen points to indirectly here is that novels such as Radcliffe’s were probably largely dismissed as women’s novels because they feature female protagonists (just as Austen’s do). For Catherine Morland, this is what drives her love of the genre. Catherine relates to and idolizes the heroines of novels, so much so that she imagines herself in circumstances that would make her one of them.

Catherine’s chief complaint and reason for disliking history is that the books are dominated by male subjects involved in traditionally masculine activities like war and matters of religion. Here, both Austen and Catherine point to a problem that plagued history as a subject for centuries – written by and about men, history focused on those in power --political and religious leaders (by and large men). Recently, history as a field has sought to correct this, exploring subjects on the margins and using fields like material culture to investigate the records of individuals who weren’t kings or popes.

Catherine finds history dull because she cannot find figures or circumstances in the storytelling with which to relate. Austen even wryly points out that much history writing at the time features just as much fiction as novels. It is not the lack of inventiveness in the storytelling that dismays Catherine; it is the lack of female protagonists involved in circumstances that she might find either relatable or tantalizing.

Austen uses her heroine to call attention to the pitfalls of another popular form of writing in her time. She even goes a step further to demonstrate that those pitfalls are the favorable hallmarks of many novels. Indirectly, Austen criticizes another genre for lacking traits that bolster her own.

Reading: Catherine Morland and Us

“But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventful lives.”

-Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

            Reading is often regarded as a form of escapism -“to get lost in a good book,” as the expression goes; it is often viewed as a diversion from our lives, as if our lives are put on hold while we are engaged by literature. A similar view is often held regarding education –quite often students are told that after school, they will be out in the real world. But education is a part of the real world; professors and students are not temporarily existing in some kind of alternate, suspended reality. Likewise, life does not stop when we read. The time we spend engaged in reading any kind of written work is as valuable an experience as any other. We can even argue that it is among the most important experiences we can have. The same can be said for our schooling.

            Literary critic, Gerald Graff, had remarked on negative views that many hold toward literary criticism; he expressed that these views are tied to a sense that we spend more time talking about life than living it. This is at the heart of the view that education –specifically reading, analyzing literature and discussing it- is somehow excluded from what we would consider life. Whether we read a book of our own choosing for enjoyment on a Sunday evening, or we analyze the character development in a novel prescribed by a comparative literature professor, the effects of the information we take in can range from subtly flavoring our lives during the period that we are reading that work to dramatically influencing who we are.

            The above quote from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey describes the changes in our central character, Catherine Morland, as her interests shift from playing outside as a child to shaping her mind with books; shaping her mind into that of a heroine as a young lady. Northanger Abbey is a novel about novels; through out the work there is commentary about reading and its influence. This particular passage is provided by our narrator and as one of the first references to reading, novels and the act of reading them are held in a positive light. This is a key moment in Catherine’s character development and in addition, at this early stage in the novel, our narrator establishes a unique relationship with us as readers.

Northanger Abbey is metafiction; as Catherine reads novels within the novel, the narrator stops to address us as readers and invites us to participate in this multilayered text. This is when that real life experience of reading brings us as close as possible to fiction. As a character’s life is flavored by her books, we seem to become active participants and our lives are flavored in turn.

Scene of Reading-Northanger Abbey

Toward the end of chapter VI we find Catherine Morland and her newly beloved friend Isabella Thorpe hurriedly making their way from the “Pump-room” toward Milsom Street.

Prior the their departure however, the young women were engaged in a brief conversation detailing Catherine’s opinion of a novel titled “Udolpho.” During the course of their conversation Catherine details her excitement for the novel and Isabella shares a list of others, described as “horrid,” which she believes Catherine will enjoy. She further suggests that they will have to read them together.

John Thorpe, Isabella’s brother and James Morland, Catherine’s brother, surprisingly and unexpectedly meet the young women as they wait to cross the roadway during a passage within chapter VII. After a brief interlude in which pleasantries are exchanged and John rambles on about his “gig,” which happens to be a horse drawn carriage for two, Catherine decides to innocently ask Mr. Thorpe the following question; “Have you ever read Udolpho Mr. Thorpe?”

Mr. Thorpe’s response is short and rationalized as he points out that he “never reads novels” and that he has “something else to do.” Mr. Thorpe’s response was, in my opinion, both an unwarranted attack and a naïve response; an attack upon, not just Catherine, but those that enjoy the pleasure associated with reading such a narrative and his naiveté was displayed as he insinuates that individuals can use such time to accomplish more than just reading fiction.

To further insult readers of novels, Mr. Thorpe describes the reading of such material as “nonsense” and “the stupidest things in creations.” Mr. Thorpe’s words allow the reader to infer that those that read novels are lacking intelligence and those writing such material even more so. The exception to the rule appears to be Tom Jones, in which Mr. Thorpe appears to infer that a male writer has succeeded in accomplishing a decent work worth his time. 

Mr. Thorpe does however utter that the writings of Mrs. Ann Radcliffe are worthy of his time, but only as a form of amusement and his ignorance is furthered when Catherine informs him that Mrs. Radcliffe is in fact the author of “Udolpho.”    

Mr. Thorpe fails to realize that his remarks identify a pattern of male chauvinistic beliefs, possibly common for the era, and that such literary works are considered to be of less academic value. As Mr. Thorpe appears to eat crow and displays his knowledge of female writers when alluding to “that other stupid book” written by a woman, Catherine assists him by correctly informing him. One again however, Mr. Thorpe justifies his lack of enthusiasm for “Camilla” when he utters that the author married an immigrant.    

Mr. Thorpe’s words echo sexism, racism, and ignorance that could possibly cause Catherine to refrain from either reading novels in the future and most assuredly internalize such enthusiasm if she were to continue enjoying the genre.