Northanger Abbey — Jane Austen’s Spoof of a Gothic Novel
Regency Romance on a Dark and Stormy Night
Book: Northanger Abbey Date of publication: 1817. Genre: Gothic Romance. Publisher: Crosby & Co
Jane Austen is known for her charmingly witty Regency romance novels. The heroines of these novels are politely critical of society while still participating in balls and tea parties and eventually make a good match with a gentleman they love. Despite their limitations to the concerns of the upper middle class in the period, Jane Austen’s novels are a refreshing peek into female life in the Regency era. None of Jane Austen’s novels feature a single scene where a woman is not present. The real deliciousness in her writing, however, is the wit and humor she uses to point out the ridiculousness of certain parts of high society. Perhaps the most famous example is her opening line of Pride and Prejudice proclaiming “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Jane Austen, of course, doesn’t believe that all wealthy men are looking for a wife. She is simply observing how society will throw their daughters at them, hoping for a wealthy relative as Mrs. Bennet does in the novel. This razor-sharp wit is employed with vigor in Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen’s underrated spoof of a Gothic novel.
