The Classics discussion

Austen says at the beginning of the book that Catherine was not born to be a heroine? Throughout the course of the book how true is this statement?

How does she compare to Austen's other female leads?

Her naivety doesn't do her any favours. It creates more problems than it solves. She seems to be the youngest Austen protagonist I've read. It would be interesting to see her and Anne interact I think but I wonder what Anne would think of her.

I have always thought of a Jane Austen heroine as very intellectual and self-assured, I may even go as far a saying they displayed the characteristics of a feminists(if such a thing existed in that time).At the beginning of Northanger Abbey, Catherine does not come close to meeting these standards, she is naive, deferential, and doesn't have an opinion that someone else doesn't express first.

However, I was happy to watch her grow a back bone, and lose the proverbial veil over her eyes as the book went on. By the end of the story, while she was still no Elizabeth Bennett, she was greatly improved in the heroine department

I agree. Catherine started out as extremely naive and while having discovered certain truths about human nature, mostly Isabella, John and General Tilney, she still seems far less worldly than say Lizzie or Anne.