Jane Austens Fidelity and Betrayal in Northanger Abbey - Book Report/Review Example

Jane Austen’s Fidelity and Betrayal in Northanger Abbey Jane Austen has been a long-debated figure in British literature. As a female pre-Victorian writer, she presents a view of the world not typically captured in other literature of her time. “Hers was chiefly the outlook of the present tense. … She took her world as she found it, wishing for nothing better” (Bald, 1963: 2). Yet in presenting the people she saw around her throughout her series of social novels, Austen nevertheless made commentary upon the world she lived in, perhaps capturing something between the lines that has been missed in modern criticism. In working to capture the “polite social relationships between members of the landed classes within the context of the village and the great house” (Monaghan, 1980: 5), Austen has been said both to be a champion of the Victorian ideals of female submission and subservience as well as of being a forerunner to the feminist movement that would have its roots in this culture. Within novels such as Northanger Abbey, Austen reveals the basic elements of betrayal and fidelity that characterized her world as women attempted to arrange the best marriage they could for themselves using whatever means were available. Through characters such as Isabella, Catherine and Eleanor, Austen illustrates the various ways in which betrayal and fidelity were used within this changing society to further women’s primary career, the pursuit of marriage. By portraying characters that were deceitful as well as characters who were loyal to their morals and beliefs, Austen attempted to illustrate the situation women were finding themselves in during the Regency period, a time marked by remarkable social change. This begins to establish the various ways in which Austen portrayed the complicated relationship and reconciliation women found within the narrow world allotted to them. The world that Austen captures in her books is a world that is changing from the rigid class systems and gender roles of the past to a new definition. “The social world she described so minutely was that of the Regency, a period, partly in the 18th, partly in the 19th century, that had its own particular characteristics. It was a time when the rigid class system of the earlier 18th century was breaking down, especially in the middle, between the top ruling class of the wealthy and influential land-owning aristocrats and the working classes” (Priestley, 1960: 79). This meant a change in the rigid system of manners that had typified the upper classes as wealthy merchants and sailors began to afford the properties of the decadent rich who, often placing more value on appearances than realities, began overspending. With this change, the role of women was also changed, and it is this change that Austen captures in her novels as she introduces the idea of women as full thinking, feeling and reasonable people, planting the early seeds for the future feminist movements. Austen’s characters, in true female fashion, sought nothing more than an advantageous marriage that would bring honor and dignity to the family as well as comfort and prosperity to her home, depicting the social ideal that the woman’s place was in the home and her career, regardless of her personal tastes, opinions or desires, was to be marriage. This was not an easy task. Not only limited by whether or not she was able to attract a man, women were also limited in their pursuit of ‘marital freedom’ brought about by a congenial marriage dependent on the size of their dowry, the size of their potential husband’s holdings and the approval of her parents if she was younger than 21 (Poole, 1993). As a result, the object remained always doing whatever it took to attract the man with the greatest potential. Isabella, for instance, is unable to avoid attempting to improve her own fortunes by flirting with Captain Tilney, a much richer man with a much more sizable estate to inherit even after having secured her future in an engagement with James Morland. Isabella is a prime example of Austen’s concept of betrayal as she attempts to make a better match for herself with Captain Tilney. Even in her criticism of Austen’s treatment of women, Bald (1963) admits to a certain power wielded by the female characters as they manipulate their connections. “Generally speaking, Jane Austen’s women were not at all simple. They all had a game in hand, and many of them were ‘crack’ players. Their apparent artlessness was often the result of a carefully studied pose” (Bald, 1963: 24). This is stated outright in when the narrator comments, “Where people wish to attract, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind, is to come with an inability of ministering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman, especially, if she has the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can” (Austen, 1138). This is the stance taken by Isabella betrayed early in the novel as she artfully objects to the attentions of two young gentlemen in the pump room and then contrives for the girls to follow the young men outdoors. As the two girls become better acquainted, Isabella engages in multiple behaviors that confuse Catherine because of their seeming contradictions. For instance, in Chapter 16, the girls are at a ball and Isabella tells Catherine dancing is quite out of the question as she is so busy thinking about her fiancé. Catherine takes her at her word, betraying her own true heart and calling herself to the attention of another individual with a true heart in the form of Henry. She tells Henry, “Your brother will not mind it, I know, … Because I heard him say before that he hated dancing; but it was very good-natured of him to think of it. I suppose he saw Isabella sitting down, and fancied she might wish for a partner” (Austen, 1149). Her statement reveals her utter guilelessness in taking others strictly at their word without any consideration for the complicated rules and manipulations of social ‘manners’ or the considered hope of Isabella to make a stronger, meaning wealthier, match. In making such a statement, however, she reveals her own inability to understand these customs and endears herself to Henry’s heart, which is also searching for someone true. He reveals this by telling her, “Your attributing my brother’s wish of dancing with Miss Thorpe to good-nature alone, convinced me of your being superior in good-nature yourself to all the rest of the world” (Austen, 1150). Catherine is demonstrated to be almost stupid in her lack of understanding the hints and games being played by her friend Isabella until it has been demonstrated beyond any doubt that Isabella is as false as Catherine is true. “A fundamental idea in Austen’s novels was that a respectable marriage was an equal marriage in which man and woman were partners, and was therefore based on friendship, love, and esteem” (Dean, 1998). Therefore, it can be expected that while Isabella remains artfully false in her relations with men, she can expect a poor or even no marriage while Catherine, in her sincere approach to those around her, can expect a rewarding marriage to a man with a true heart. However, there are also examples that fidelity can be present among women of the upper society as well as they seek their fortunes. While Catherine is undeniably true, she is also seen as naïve regarding the expected roles and behaviors within polite society outside of her country home. Thus, it is necessary for Austen to introduce a member of the elite society who reinforces Catherine’s loyalty as the more desirable behavior. This is done through the character of Eleanor. She is introduced in Chapter 8 as a complete foil for the likes of Isabella, “her air, though it had not all the decided pretension, the resolute stylishness of Miss Thorpe’s, had more real elegance. Her manners showed good sense and good breeding; they were neither shy nor affectedly open; and she seemed capable of being young, attractive, and at a ball without wanting to fix the attention of every man near her” (Austen, 1103). Despite having the opportunity to have assumed Catherine slighted her in a missed engagement, she, like Catherine herself, seems to have expected that Catherine’s given reason was valid at the time and not to have held it against her. The perceived snub when Eleanor refused to see Catherine upon presenting herself to apologize is equally unfounded as Eleanor was at the mercy of her father, who insisted upon strict punctuality in everything he did. Throughout Catherine’s struggles with society, it is always Eleanor who displays the ‘high road’ of true sentiment and appropriate expression and Isabella who demonstrates the practiced art of catching a man. When Catherine is later betrayed by Mr. Tilney, who sends her off home with no explanation for his sudden recall of hospitality and no time to make proper arrangements, it is Eleanor who thinks to ensure Catherine has the money she’ll need to get home and Eleanor who remains faithful to her friend despite the wishes of her father. While there are numerous ways in which the novel can be said to depict the concepts of betrayal and fidelity, it is particularly as it is depicted among the women of the novel that Austen explores the various ways in which a changing society was affecting the behavior and experience of women. Because of the severe restrictions placed upon their movements, education and social status, women were forced to concentrate almost exclusively upon finding a suitable husband who would provide for them in a high style so they should never find it necessary to work or struggle for a living even if something dreadful should happen to the husband. For many, this became a vocation, one in which skill and subtle manipulations were deemed necessary if one was to be successful. This gave rise to the types of artful games and deceits practiced by women such as Isabella, who remained true to the idea of marriage without knowing what it meant to be true to herself or to others. However, Austen stresses the importance of being true to the self and others if one wishes to succeed as is demonstrated through the character of Eleanor and depicted through the struggles of Catherine. As she makes this argument, Austen suggests that only by allowing women greater freedom and greater opportunity can they remain the true defenders of virtue and morality that society painted them as being and thus move forward to become equal partners in a loving relationship and serve as the ideal example needed in order to raise children with these same qualities. Works Cited Austen, Jane. “Northanger Abbey.” The Complete Novels of Jane Austen. London: Wordsworth Library Collection, 2007. Bald, Marjorie. Women-Writers of the Nineteenth-Century. New York: Russell & Russell, 1963. Dean, Jennifer. “Jane Austen and the Female Condition: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century England.” University of Alabama. (1998). December 1, 2007 from Monaghan, David. Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1980. Poole, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. Priestley, J.B. “Austen Portrays a Small World with Humor and Detachment.” Four English Novels. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1960. Reprinted in David Bender et al, Readings on Jane Austen. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Read More