REMEMBER: the questions below are for Wednesday's reading/discussion, since they are post-reading questions. But be sure to read the above pages for Friday's class (to Chapter 21).
Answer two of the following for Wednesday's reading:
Q1: When Catherine is asked if she reads anything but novels, she declares that she does not, and especially hates histories, since "the men [are] all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all, it is very tiresome" (122). Why might Catherine's rant here sound suspiciously like the Narrator from Chapter 5, when she goes on and on about novels? What is Austen's point here?
Q2: In these chapters, Catherine learns to have moral convictions, even at the expense of her friends' opinions. Why might this be an important passage for Austen to include in the novel, considering her audience (young women)?
Q3: We talked a little in class about how Henry Tilney, for all his perfections, might fall a little short as the 'ideal husband.' How do you think Austen wants us to read him? Is he the 'knight in shining armor' that all women secretly dream of? Or is he like the Narrator describes him, as "not quite handsome, [but] very near it")?
Q4: Northanger Abbey is significant among Austen's works in that there are hardly any adults in the book, other than the Allens (who do little), and General Tilney, who is more of a boogey-man. Why do you think this is? Why might Catherine's story be more important witnessed behind a background of her peers? Why blot out all the adults, since they are the ones who make the real decisions in Austen's world?
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