Balance Between Sense and Sensibility in Jane Austens...

Balance Between Sense and Sensibility in Jane Austens Northanger Abbey Throughout her novel, Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen integrates parody with characterization to emphasize the necessity of a balance between sense and sensibility while reflecting a theme of the initiation of a young woman into the complexities of adult social life. This novel can be traced back as one of Jane Austens earliest works. It was written in 1798, but not published until 1818, and is an excellent example of what Austen believed a novel should not be. In the work Jane Austens Novels Social Change and Literary Form, Julia Prewitt Brown states The evident purpose of Northanger Abbey is to burlesque the popular fiction of her day, to carry its conventions†¦show more content†¦The first paragraph of the first chapter in the novel uses subtle Irony to depict to the reader what Catherine Moorland was not. Catherine was not a girl with extraordinary beauty and ability of a classic romantic heroine, but an ordinary girl who may possibly lack extraordinary beauty and ability. In the novel, Catherine travels to Bath where she comes into contact with silly and tasteless people, the Thorpes. This contrast makes Catherine shine brighter. Catherine also comes into contact with the Tilneys, who were educated, well-bred people with a sense of humor. Their influence helps Catherine to develop into a sensible character, relieved of romantic notions, to become a charming wife for Henry Tilney. Upon introduction in the novel, Catherine Moorland reflects a character that epitomizes the characteristic of sensibility. In the 19th century sensibility was a characteristic based on imagination, fantasy, innocence, passion, and creative thinking. The conventions of the gothic novel overlap, in all its forms, with sensibility, in part because it concerns a suffering protagonist. In this novel Catherines confusion of the world of romance with the everyday world begins innocently and is the cause of her suffering. To relieve her suffering and become a mature adult Catherine must learn to distinguish between illusion and reality, to be aware that the imagination has the power to enforce its own slanted vision upon the world. Through a series of interactions withShow MoreRelatedJane Austen And The Golden Mean2893 Words   |  12 PagesCamila Hernandez Mrs. Izquierdo English 10 Per.3 26 February 2015 Jane Austen and The Golden Mean One of the most famous authors of the Regency period, Jane Austen, the novelist whom wrote Sense and Sensibility and many other novels, made a splash in the literature world for women. Being a woman was very difficult during the Regency period and women were not treated as equals to men. In the novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen shows the strength of women and how even when all the odds areRead MoreManners in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen3437 Words   |  14 Pages Pride and Prejudice Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice not only established her historical importance among scholars and critics, but continues to remain popular. Pride and Prejudice, a comedy of manners, was published in 1813, and is a staple of the English literature. It recreates the social world of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England and embodies the theme that preconceptions and egotism can overcome true love. Pride and Prejudice is somewhat autobiographical; emphasizes the key elements