Northanger Abbey Character Analysis and Literary Themes
Character Analysis: Northanger Abbey
1. Catherine Morland
A seventeen-year-old raised in a rural parsonage with many siblings. She is open, honest, and naïve about the hypocritical ways of society. Catherine was a plain little girl, and her parents never expected very much from her, though she has grown more attractive as she has entered her late teens. Catherine loves novels; she is especially obsessed with Gothic novels set in castles and abandoned abbeys and hopes to experience some of the thrills portrayed in these books herself.
2. Mr. and Mrs. Morland
Catherine’s parents. Mr. Morland is a country parson in a rural village. Although he is not wealthy, he has enough money to ensure all of his children can live comfortably. This level of wealth is a disappointment to both Isabella Thorpe and General Tilney, who believed the Morlands to be wealthy. Mrs. Morland is not very aware of the dangers of society for a young, inexperienced woman of seventeen.
3. Isabella Thorpe
A conniving, beautiful, and charming social-climber of twenty-one. Isabella befriends Catherine because she believes the Morlands to be as wealthy as their neighbours, the Allens, and she wishes to marry Catherine’s brother, James. Isabella often uses reverse psychology, saying the opposite of what she means to influence others. Her hypocrisy and desire to marry for money are clear to those, like the Tilney siblings, who are more experienced than Catherine.
4. John Thorpe
A college friend of James Morland and brother to Isabella Thorpe, he is an unscrupulous, rude braggart. He is a boring conversationalist interested only in horses, carriages, money, and drinking, and he lies whenever he thinks it will impress others. He wishes to marry Catherine because he believes her to be wealthy, but he is so rude and self-centered that Catherine fails to understand his true intentions.
5. James Morland
Catherine’s brother who fails to suspect those he meets of hypocrisy. James is a loving brother, son, and friend who is easily manipulated by the Thorpes. He falls in love with Isabella and never seems to realize she is a fortune-hunter. Eager to go along with Isabella and John, James pressures Catherine to do things she believes are wrong, showing that he has a weaker, less moral character than Catherine.
6. Henry Tilney
The second son of General Tilney and Catherine Morland’s love interest. Like Catherine’s father, he works as a country parson in a rural community. He is witty, charming, and perceptive, with a much larger frame of reference and experience than Catherine, but he is also sincere and loyal. He is especially concerned for his sister Eleanor’s happiness and welfare.
7. Eleanor Tilney
A well-mannered, sensible, and sensitive young woman who becomes friends with Catherine in Bath. Eleanor suffers from loneliness at Northanger Abbey with only her brusque and tyrannical father for company. General Tilney encourages her friendship with Catherine because he believes Catherine to be wealthy and wants her to be Henry’s wife, but Eleanor is genuinely happy to have the company of another woman.
8. General Tilney
A rich man obsessed with his social rank and the wealth of his family. He shows exaggerated kindness to Catherine because he believes her to be rich. The General fixates on home improvement, furniture, and landscaping his property (Northanger Abbey). He is very harsh and dictatorial with his children, who know he expects absolute obedience.
9. Mr. and Mrs. Allen
An older couple and neighbours of the Morlands who invite Catherine to accompany them to Bath for a holiday. They are the richest family in Fullerton, with no heirs, which leads people in Bath to believe Catherine could be their heiress. Mrs. Allen is a humorous character, obsessed with looks, clothes, and fashion. In general, they are very kind and understanding toward Catherine.
The Ending of Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey has a very neat, tidy, and rather clichéd ending: all the good main characters get married and live happily ever after, while all the mean characters end up alone. Aside from being predictable, this ending is also peculiar. The novel spends a great deal of time undermining the various clichés of popular Gothic novels, yet it concludes with a series of giant clichés, including a deus ex machina—where a nice, long-suffering character happens to marry a wealthy Viscount who had never been mentioned before.
The ending accomplishes satire in a different way than the rest of the book, which relies on clever dialogue and humorously disrupted expectations. Instead of letting characters supply humor through their actions, the ending utilizes outrageous plot devices and ironic narrative commentary. Whether Jane Austen chose this over-the-top conclusion intentionally remains a subject of debate.