Jane Austen discussion

Isabella is engaged to James, Catherine is invited to Northanger, and upon arriving, it isn't quite as scary as she hoped!

Poor Catherine! Only one night of terror and then... morning, and her conscience rises right up and smacks her!

In this section, Catherine's innocence is prominent.

She wrongly attributed Cap. Tilney's motives in his flirtation with Miss Thorpe and even fears that he will fall in love with Isabella and get his heart broken over what he can *never* have.

Then Mr. Thorpe's hints go completely over her head, hints that he *thinks* more of Catherine than she imagined.

I still think Catherine a good sort of girl with a good head on her shoulders.

I think in both of these cases she misunderstands what is going on due to her youth and inexperience--and not stupidity. She is ignorant, and ignorance can be rectified with experience and new information.

Has anyone noticed how Gen. Tilney * struggles* to be agreeable and on his *best* behavior around Catherine? It's a struggle for him and his generally bad temperament bursts forth in moments of incivility.

Henry and Eleanor are more subdued around him. They know he's is a bad-tempered man, though he tries to hide it.

Hmm...an interesting section.

I think Capt. Tilney and Isabella are going to get in trouble.

Laughed through Henry's account of what Catherine *might* find at NA, and her adventures were priceless. She has a very vivid imagination, for sure!

Can someone help me understand a few things?
1) Is H. Tilney really a minister? If so, he spends a lot of time away from his parish.
2) Who's the oldest son in the Tilney Family? Or have we not met him yet?
Thanks!

Looking forward to reading on...

Capt. Tilney is the heir.

It's odd to me that ((Capt.) Mr. Tilney became a military man. I would have thought Henry would become the military man while the heir cuts a dash in town while he waits for his inheritance.

Maybe Henry is the favorite son, and if Mr. Tilney dies in the line of duty, the fortunate son bec the heir. (I know this is far-fetched, but I can't sleep!)

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Capt. Tilney is the heir.

It's odd to me that ((Capt.) Mr. Tilney became a military man. I would have thought Henry would become the military man while the heir cuts a dash in town while he waits ..."

It is possible that General Tinley expected his eldest son to follow in his military footsteps and was not too worried about the second son.

Andrea (Catsos Person) is a Compulsive eBook Hoarder wrote: "Capt. Tilney is the heir.

It's odd to me that ((Capt.) Mr. Tilney became a military man. I would have thought Henry would become the military man while the heir cuts a dash in town while he waits ..."

Thank you, Andrea and Michelle, for answering my question. I thought Cpt. Tilney was the heir, but it's not a normal situation for Regency England. Usually the heir stays "home" or, as you said, dashes around town, but I've not seen historical reference to an eldest son in the military until now. (And, yes, I know this is fiction...but still the setting is historical and JA's era.)

Interesting thought on Henry being the favored son... We could turn that idea into a murder mystery of Cpt. T. to make a real Radcliffe novel. Or maybe NOT ;)

Read last night the chapter in which Henry Tilney is driving Catherine in his curricle on the last leg of the journey to Northanger Abbey. In an extended conversation, he offers a fanciful description of what she is to expect at the Abbey, drawing on the clichés of horrid novels.

• Is she really taken in by it? I suspect that by the time she says, “This is just like a book!” she has caught on to the fact that he is pulling her leg, and from there on, she is playing along with his game. But Jane Austen seems to want us to believe that she was at least halfway falling for it, because after more than a page further of Henry’s nonsense, the narrator says, “Catherine, recollecting herself, grew ashamed of her eagerness, and began earnestly to assure him that her attention had been fixed without the smallest apprehension of really meeting with what he related.”
• Is Henry making fun of her gullibility and obsession with gothic fiction, or is he merely trying to amuse her? I am torn about this. JA says, “Henry was too much amused by the interest he had raised, to be able to carry it farther; he could no longer command solemnity either of subject or voice.” This seems quite ambiguous, as if JA, while seeming to give his point of view, is deliberately avoiding letting us in on his thoughts. Opinions?

@Abigail.

It's hard for me to go back and review the conversation in the curricle as I am reading a kindle edition.

I feel JA/narrator doesn't say much about what's on HT's mind in general. Though I do recall narrator's general comments/opinion that men like to explain the unknown to pretty women as in the case of HT explaining to C how to look at the outdoor scenery with an artists's eye during the walk taken by C with HT and Elinor.

How about a clergyman (HT) owning a curricle? That's like a clergyman owning a flashy sports car! I just can't imagine making pastoral visits with a curricle as the vehicle!

One of my favorite parts in the book is when Henry & Catherine are on the way to Northanger & their conversation! Henry would be a great ghost story teller! :)