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In creating Catherine, the heroine of Northanger Abbey, Austen creates the heroine of a Gothic novel. Both Austen and Catherine portray Catherine's life in heroic terms—Austen humorously, and Catherine seriously, especially when she suspects General Tilney of murdering his wife.
- Henry Tilney
Henry is often amused by Catherine's naïve nature, and...
- Isabella Thorpe
Isabella manages to weasel a marriage proposal out of James,...
- Henry Tilney
- Catherine Morland
- Henry Tilney
- Eleanor Tilney
- General Tilney
- Isabella Thorpe
- John Thorpe
- James Morland
- Frederick Tilney
- Mr. and Mrs. Allen
- Mrs. Thorpe
The protagonist of Northanger Abbey.Catherine is seventeen years old, and has spent all her life in her family's modest home in the rural area of Fullerton. While Catherine has read many novels (particularly Gothic novels), she is very inexperienced at reading people. Her naiveté about the world and about the motivations and character of the people...
Henry Tilney is a 26-year-old parson in a small village called Woodston. He is intelligent, well-tempered, and attuned to the motivations and behavior of those around him. He is very well read, and enjoys novels as much as history books. He is good natured, but has a wry cynical view of human behavior. He is often amused at the folly of others, but...
Henry's younger sister, Eleanor is a shy, quiet young woman. She shares an interest in reading with her brother, but for the most part, her reserve prevents her from having many friends. Like her brothers, Eleanor is often subject to the somewhat tyrannical behavior of her father, General Tilney.
The domineering father of Henry, Eleanor, and Captain Tilney. He is a widower. Like several characters in the novel (such as Mrs. Allen), the General is very concerned with material things. He takes great pride in his home, Northanger Abbey, which he has refurbished himself. He is preoccupied with both earning money and spending it. He enjoys eatin...
One of Mrs. Thorpe's three daughters, and the sister of John Thorpe. She is Catherine's best friend for the first half of the novel. Isabella is attractive and very spirited, but like her mother, she is a gossip and often concerned with superficial things. She enjoys flirting with many young men, which bothers the more reserved Catherine. Ultimatel...
The brother of Isabella, he is conceited, arrogant, and given to boasting and exaggeration. He talks endlessly and rarely listens. Like his sister, John is given to superficiality. John tries to woo Catherine, but his arrogance quickly turns her against him.
The brother of Catherine and a fellow student of John Thorpe at Oxford University. James is mild-mannered and very caring, like his sister. James falls for Isabella Thorpe and becomes engaged to her, but breaks off the engagement when she begins a flirtation with Frederick Tilney.
Captain Frederick Tilney (often referred to simply as "Captain Tilney") is the oldest sibling in the Tilney family. Unlike his brother Henry or his sister Eleanor, Frederick is a flirt and given to mischief. Austen suggests that Frederick is the Tilney child closest in character to General Tilney by identifying both men by their ranks rather than b...
The couple that invites Catherine to go to Bath with them. Like Catherine's family, the Allens live in the rural town of Fullerton. They are older and wealthier than the Morlands, but they are childless, and they see Catherine as a kind of surrogate daughter. Mr. Allen is a practical man who spends most of his time in Bath playing cards; Mrs. Allen...
Mrs. Thorpe is the widowed mother of Isabella and of two other daughters. Like her daughter, she is concerned primarily with gossip, fashion, and money. In conversation with her friend Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Thorpe talks mostly about her pride in her children (Mrs. Allen has no children) while Mrs. Allen talks about her gowns (Mrs. Thorpe is not nearly a...
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Who is Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey?
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This adaptation aired on PBS in the United States as part of the "Complete Jane Austen" on Masterpiece Classic in January 2008. It stars Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland and JJ Feild as Henry Tilney. A stage adaptation of Northanger Abbey by Tim Luscombe (published by Nick Hern Books ISBN 9781854598370), was produced by Salisbury Playhouse ...
- Jane Austen
- United Kingdom
- 1817
- 1818 (published on December 20, 1817, although the title page is dated 1818)
Catherine Morland is the heroine of Jane Austen's 1817 novel Northanger Abbey. A modest, kind-hearted ingénue , she is led by her reading of Gothic literature to misinterpret much of the social world she encounters.
- Richard Morland, Mrs Morland
- Northanger Abbey/Woodston Parsonage
- Female
- James Morland (brother), Sarah "Sally" Morland (sister), George Morland (brother), Harriet Morland (sister), 2 elder brothers, 3 younger siblings
As Jane Austen helpfully informs us at the beginning of Northanger Abbey, Catherine Morland isn't really much of a heroine. Catherine is a lot of things your typical heroine isn't. She isn't especially smart, or wealthy, or beautiful, or tragic. This is, of course, precisely the point in Austen's efforts to skewer the Gothic novel, which ...
Henry Tilney is the second son of General Tilney and is Catherine Morland ’s love interest. Like Catherine’s father, he works as a parson in a rural community. He is witty, charming, and perceptive, with a much larger frame of reference and experience than Catherine has, but is also sincere and loyal.
Jan 19, 2008 · In Jane Austen’s words, Henry Tilney, the hero of Northanger Abbey, seemed to be about “ four or five and twenty, was rather tall, had a pleasing countenance, a very intelligent and lively eye, and, if not quite handsome, was very near it.” In addition he came from a respectable family in Gloucestershire.
