Monday, March 24, 2008

Northanger Abbey

Book 7/25

Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

This is a first for me: a review of a book written by an author who is now deceased. It's also the first true Victorian novel I've read, outside of the confines of a classroom. To finish, it's the first of Ms. Austen's books that I have read. It was a challenge to read - always a fresh delight - because the language, punctuation, and even spelling are foreign to the books I've devoured these last few years. A complete understanding of character is required, at times, simply to determine who is speaking, and the era and attitudes are completely foreign, in this day and age. Add in the fact that the references mean very little to me, and it was a completely new reading experience.

A coming-of-age story, Catherine makes the traditional journey from a silly little girl to a composed young woman, without any of the dramatic trevails I'm used to reading. Instead, her life is ordinary, and her lessons are those everyone has to learn. She suffers the surprises and disappointments that are common to every woman, regardless of era, and she has the believable innocence of a young girl. She's simply human, and her desires and dreams are sweetly common: to be sought as a dance partner, to spend time with her friends, and to find a suitable husband she loves. She's ordinary, and she makes mistakes and does end up suffering their consequences. It's a simple tale, but it manages to convey so much meaning and delight. I was entranced.

To go from novels containing characters who are anything but human, and who have problems that seem insurmountable, to a young girl trying to find her way in the real world was a fresh change. I couldn't help but sympathize with Catherine and recall my own teenage years and the fickleness of friends and boys. Catherine's longing for drama and excitement over possible mysteries in the Abbey are simple, and yet they still capture the imagination. She's a young lady discovering the joy of reading fiction - how could one not fall in love with her? At the same time, she's foolish and naive, and she suffers for both. Her claims against General Tillney are the ridiculous accusations of fantasy, and Henry returns her to the real world brutally. She has unfailing trust in Isabella, and Isabella's true nature crushes poor Catherine's idylls. It was reality, but the removal of decades between Catherine's world and my own made it unreal.

My only real complaint was a lack of dialogue, particularly at the end. The majority of the book consists of description and speculation, with comments by Ms. Austen herself. You still get an accurate picture of each character, but you aren't let into their thoughts, desires, or intentions as nicely as I find in the novels I read today. I wanted to see more dialogue, to see more of the word play and fancy of the time, and I was disappointed to simply find pages on the beauty of Bath. The ending was positively anti-climatic and a disappointment. The General's motives were ones I hadn't expected, which was a nice surprise, but the entire space of a year is rounded out in just a few paragraphs. Ms. Austen deprived the reader of the conversations between Henry and Catherine, and the emotions of their reunion; it came across flat and rigid. I wanted to see Catherine rise in triumph from her depression, but she, more or less, wandered out of it quietly. It was a chance for passionate writing, for a truly-earned ending, and it was passed up. I wish Ms. Austen had given more time to tying off the ends of her tale; I would have liked to have heard the apologies and excuses and whispers of tenderness.

All in all, a very charming book, and a refreshing break from the fantasy and science fiction of my normal reading diet.
Posted by Andria :: 1:09 PM :: 0 comments

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