Jennifer's post on Northanger Abbey

Hi Jennifer--I am just reposting your comment as new post, so everyone can see it more easily!
EHA

Northanger Abbey is really unlike any book I’ve ever read. So far, I’m finding the book very Jane Austenesque. So many of the themes are similar to Pride and Prejudice, which is one of my favorite novels. So far Catherine Morland is very similar in description as Elizabeth Bennett. It seems as though both were described as pretty but on the plain side of attractiveness but their personal qualities seem to be so appealing that they are prettier for it. There are some of the same themes recurring in that in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth did not care for Mr. Darcy at all and the same is true of Catherine’s feelings toward Mr. Thorpe.
What is so intriguing about Northanger Abbey the literary telling of this story by Jane Austen. We were warned that this book constantly takes the reader out of the story and reminds the reader that they are indeed reading a book but the way in which Jane Austen does this is pretty compelling. I almost feel like the author is reading the story to me and then interjecting her intentions to me in a similar fashion to a ‘side bar’ in a courtroom. It is like she wants me to know how she intended her characters to be viewed in my mind’s eye. The reason I say so is because it seems that she mostly pulls me back out of the story when introducing a new character.
I also really like how Jane Austen talks about literature in general in the story, throwing in little bits and pieces of intrigue. On page 36, it seems as though she is going on a tirade about reviewers and the “undervaluing of the labor of the novelist.” This part of the book was quite unexpected. I wondered immediately if this was a revision to the novel after she bought it back from Benjamin Crosby & Company after they neglected to publish it after acquiring the rights from Austen’s brother. It seemed in the moment that I read the passage that she was really taking the ‘side bars’ and utilizing them to make a broader statement about the literary community and the strengths of the writers versus the weaknesses and failings of literary critics and publishers. As the story continues to unfold, I’m actually looking forward to more ‘side bars’ because I feel like Austen is taking the time to befriend me by letting me in on her little secrets. It is a little silly but it does feel like I’m making a new friend in some ways who is trusting me with her private thoughts.