The Annotated Northanger Abbey
Page 38
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21. While those twenty-one or older could marry legally without parental consent, social norms dictated gaining it before proceeding. This permission could also be important, as it is in this case, because of the new couple’s dependence on the financial arrangements the parents would make.
22. Many novel heroines express, and manifest in their actions, such extremes of self-sacrifice.
23. Sentimental and romantic writers during this period would sometimes have their characters declare an indifference to money, an opinion often accompanied by a hostility to cities and their supposed corruption and a preference for a simple rural life. Jane Austen, while always condemning avarice and obsession with money, also supports a pragmatic acknowledgment of its importance, and shows that in her heroines. In Sense and Sensibility she ridicules the sentimental Marianne, who proclaims, similarly to Isabella, that money has nothing to do with happiness beyond a “competence,” before admitting that her definition of a competence is a sum that almost anyone else would call great wealth.
24. A cottage meant then a small house inhabited by the poor. Just after this novel was published, the Romantic taste expressed by Isabella would lead to the development of special, larger cottages for wealthy people that exuded rusticity (though they still retained plenty of comforts on the inside).
25. This sentence contradicts all Isabella’s prior professions. Richmond was a town situated along the Thames River just west of London (today it is part of Greater London) that had become a popular residence for wealthy people who wished for a house in a rural and attractive location that was still close to London and thus gave access to its pleasures. The “charming little villas”—“villa” being a term for a small, newly built house, usually in or near a town—she speaks of would be expensive, highly fashionable dwellings (see below and the following page). She may have long yearned for Richmond, since, as is soon revealed, she lives in the nearby, but less wealthy and fashionable, town of Putney. For Richmond and Putney, see this map.
A cottage.
[From James Merigot, The Amateur’s Portfolio, or the New Drawing Magazine, Vol. I (London, 1815–1816), No. 5, Plate 4]
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26. Morland probably means that if he, after arriving in Fullerton and procuring his father’s approval, sends the letter of consent tonight to Salisbury, the principal town near Fullerton, the letter would arrive in Bath the next day. Mail service in Britain at this time was fast and efficient, so letters sent between relatively close places could arrive within a day.
27. Wedding gowns then were not the elaborate affairs they often are now, and they were always dresses that could subsequently be worn on other occasions; they also were not necessarily white. But they still could be an object of significant interest, especially to someone as vain as Isabella.
28. The “eight parts of speech” was a term often used then. It means the eight types of words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, participles, prepositions, and interjections. In this sentence it is an elaborate way of signifying spoken language and its meanings.
A villa near Bristol.
[From Humphrey Repton, The Art of Landscape Gardening (Boston, 1907; reprint edition), p. 203]
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29. Mrs. Thorpe displays the same hyperbolic feelings and expressions as her daughter. They are a sign of lack of trustworthiness in Austen’s novels.
30. The particulars would be the financial settlements that were standard parts of a marriage agreement.
31. made over: handed over, transferred.
32. Funded money was money in the “funds,” or government bonds. It and landed property were the principal forms of investment among the genteel classes, and therefore were the assets potentially available in an event like this. That Isabella is thinking so specifically of financial matters indicates her true interest in them.
33. establishment: marriage.
A grand villa (Chiswick House) in the vicinity of Richmond.
[From J. Alfred Gotch, The English Home from Charles I to George IV (New York, 1918), p. 217]
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34. A new carriage was a frequent accompaniment to marriage among the wealthy. Since only a small minority of the population, whether married or not, could afford the tremendous cost of purchasing and keeping a carriage, Isabella’s hope indicates her high expectations of James’s wealth.
35. tickets: visiting cards (see note 41). Her imagination is probably fired by the prospect both of seeing “Mrs. Isabella Morland” on her cards—due to the higher social status of married women—and of undertaking the standard ritual of introduction, in which she, as a new arrival in whatever place she and James settle, would visit the families of her own social level and leave her card.
36. A hoop ring was a finger ring with cut stones set along the band. A group of the rings could be worn on an individual finger, as Isabella envisages.
37. Thorpe spoke earlier of possibly going to London on Tuesday (this page); it is now Wednesday (see chronology, this page).
38. Devizes is a town east of Bath (see this map). One of the standard routes from Bath to London then went through Devizes. It is probable that Thorpe is planning to stop there for the night and has mentioned that already. According to current guidebooks the route from Bath to London was approximately 105 miles; Devizes was only a little more than fifteen miles from Bath, but since Thorpe is leaving late in the day he must stop long before a halfway point.
39. “One wedding begets another” was a common proverb.
40. Most people would understand that Thorpe is alluding to a possible match between himself and Catherine. Her naïveté, however, prevents that, which means she unconsciously gives him encouragement throughout this exchange.
41. This is Thorpe’s awkward version of the sort of compliment a man would normally offer to a woman he is wooing.
42. monstrous: great, tremendous. The term was slang at this time; it is only used in Austen’s novels by unpolished characters.
43. Thorpe’s having his own gig signals that he possesses some fortune. If his earlier boast of owning several expensive hunting horses is accurate (see this page), it would be a considerable one. In contrast, Isabella has no fortune, according to Catherine (this page). This is unusual, for normally, while the eldest son of a family received a greater inheritance than the other children, the latter still received something. It is possible a childless relative of the Thorpes has bestowed all his fortune on John Thorpe. If so, it could help account for the high-handed way in which he treats his mother and sisters.
44. At the highest levels of society, marriages often served as alliances of great fortunes and great families, though in many cases a couple felt personal affection as well.
45. The idea of not marrying solely for the sake of money—yet always ensuring there are sufficient means—is consistently endorsed by the more levelheaded characters in Jane Austen’s novels. She herself seemed to follow this advice as well: early in her life Austen and a man fell in love, but they decided, from what can be ascertained, not to marry because of a mutual lack of funds; at the same time, she later rejected a proposal from a wealthy man whom she did not love.
46. gallantry: courteous attention (to a woman).
47. happy address: successful session of courtship.
The vestibule of 4 Sydney Place, Bath, where Jane Austen and her family lived for a time. It gives a sense of a modest Bath home, such as the Thorpes would inhabit.
[From Constance Hill, Jane Austen; her Home and her Friends (London, 1904), p. 127]
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VOLUME II, CHAPTER I
1. want of spirits: lack of animation or cheerfulness.
2. high: arrogant.
3. do the honours: perform the duties or civilities of a hostess.
Milsom Street.
[From Mowbray Aston Green, The Eighteenth Century Architecture of Bath
(Bath, 1904), p. 154]
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4. common good-breeding: ordinary politeness.
5. Isabella’s wish of promoting her brother’s prospects with Catherine may be why she is so determined to find fault with the Tilneys, and thereby lessen the chance of Catherine remaining attached to Henry.
6. This is the approximate distance to the Morlands’ home in Fullerton.
Fancy Bath lodgings of the time, such as the Tilneys would occupy.
[From J. Alfred Gotch, The English Home from Charles I to George IV (New York, 1918), p. 363]
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7. assuming: cocky, presumptuous.
8. A chaise was a small enclosed carriage, the most popular vehicle for long-distance travel; a “chaise and four” denotes a chaise pulled by four horses instead of the usual two, which would increase its speed (for more, see note 14). The introduction of a new character, the last to appear in the novel, has inspired the author to return, for virtually the final time, to her parody of sentimental novels. Her two primary objects of parody here, villainous kidnappings and (just below) malicious misrepresentations, are both ones she has already ridiculed (see this page and this page).
9. Evidently, Catherine’s current set—two lines of facing dancers, between which she and her partner would dance when it was their turn (see note 44)—includes a smaller number of people than usual.
A chaise.
[From G. A. Thrupp, History of Coaches (London, 1877), p. 77]
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10. Henry’s commentary on Catherine’s naïveté undoubtedly reflects his interest and bemusement, but it also may indicate a serious interest in trying to educate her by encouraging greater discernment in the understanding of others.
11. The movement in the late eighteenth century toward formal and polished English, and away from more plain or colloquial speech (see note 26), carried the danger of making language harder to understand.
A man in evening dress.
[From Elisabeth McClellan, Historic Dress in America, 1800–1870 (Philadelphia, 1910), p. 79]
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12. “Hands across” was a dancing maneuver performed by two couples. With the two gentlemen next to each other, and the two ladies in the same position, the gentlemen and ladies of opposite couples join right hands, so that the two pairs of joined hands cross. Then the couples move clockwise until opposite their starting positions; they then join left hands in the same manner and move counterclockwise until back in their original positions. The wording here suggests that Isabella and Captain Tilney are performing this dance with Catherine and Henry, which would mean that Catherine’s subsequent expressions of astonishment occur after they have finished.
Women in evening dress.
[From Max von Boehn, Modes & Manners of the Nineteenth Century, Vol. I (London, 1909), p. 160]
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13. particular: peculiar.
14. In fact, on other occasions Isabella has expressed or revealed a keen interest in standing out.
15. Isabella’s brief hesitation may indicate her difficulty in finding a rationalization of her decision to “stand up,” i.e., dance, or it may result from the distraction caused by her memory of the compliments she received.
16. This means that Mr. Morland is both the incumbent, the current holder of the living (clerical position), and the patron, the person with the right to appoint that holder. This right, called an advowson, was possessed by a person or institution, and was treated as a form of property that could be sold or handed down in a will. The principal owners of advowsons were, in descending order, wealthy landowners, clergymen like Mr. Morland, church bishops, the Crown, and academic institutions. Whenever the person already appointed to a living died or resigned, the holder of the advowson could appoint someone else.
17. This is a decent, though not large, income by the standards of the time. In almost every case in Austen’s novels when a couple’s income is specified, it is greater than that.
18. This inheritance would come from the private fortune of Mr. Morland, which is separate from his clerical income and was mentioned at the beginning of the novel (this page). James will receive this estate when Mr. Morland dies. Its “at least equal value” refers to the annual income in rents it generates; thus James will eventually enjoy at least eight hundred pounds a year. All such financial matters would be set out in a legally binding agreement as part of the marriage arrangements with the Thorpe family.
19. A man had to be twenty-three to hold a clerical position. Hence James is currently twenty. That Catherine is seventeen, and there are two children between them, indicates the frequency of the Morlands’ childbirths in the early years of their marriage.
20. sit down: settle down; establish his position and residence.
21. find: support, maintain.
22. Mrs. Thorpe’s use of “handsome” as an adverb, here as in her previous speech, shows her vulgarity. Elsewhere in Austen’s novels “handsomely” is used.
23. The idea is that if Isabella had a large fortune, Mr. Morland’s ambition to secure her as a bride for his son would induce him to increase his son’s chances by giving him more money.
24. liberal-minded: financially generous.
25. This would be a very meager sum; nobody who was not poor would even think of marrying on it, or suggest doing so in sincerity.
A clergyman.
[From Elisabeth McClellan, Historic Dress in America, 1800–1870 (Philadelphia, 1910). p. 421]
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VOLUME II, CHAPTER II
1. Six weeks was how long they had originally planned to stay (see this page).
2. Medical authorities who recommended the Bath waters did not claim they had immediate curative properties, but that it could take some time for their benefits to appear. In a letter, Jane Austen, speaking of a brother who was drinking the waters for his health, says that although he had yet to experience improvement, “We are inclined to hope that he will derive advantage from them in the end” (June 11, 1799).
3. He will continue to reveal this impatient character.
Drinking the waters in the Pump Room. The man on the left has gout. (In Persuasion a woman who has come to Bath for her health also uses a wheelchair, though she has a different ailment.)
[From A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Bath, 5th ed. (London, 1910–?), p. 48]
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4. Eleanor, as the mistress of the household, should be the one to issue invitations. The General will override Eleanor on other occasions after indicating his wish for her to speak.
5. Saturday se’nnight: one week from Saturday. The term “se’nnight” to signify seven nights, or one week, is similar to the use of “fortnight” to mean fourteen nights, or two weeks.
6. A steward was the person who managed a large landowner’s estate. Being a steward was a respectable and reasonably well-paid profession that attracted people of middle-class background. Duties could include supervising the land and activities on the estate, dealing with the owner’s tenants and workers, and taking care of financial and legal details. The steward, though fully in charge of many matters, would still need to consult his employer on important ones, which is probably why General Tilney says his presence is needed. Many owners stayed away for periods of months and settled any questions with their steward by letter; General Tilney’s wish to be back in person may be a convenient additional justification for leaving, due to his disappointment regarding his friends, or it may reflect a particular meticulousness concerning his property, a quality he will display elsewhere in the novel.
7. Marquis, or marquess, was the second-highest rank in the English peerage after that of duke. The General’s mention of a marquis as a friend indicates his own elevated position and connections, as well as perhaps his wish to reveal that position to others.
8. Catherine’s “public triumph” would be her
success in attracting notice and admiration in Bath. Praising a woman for such presumed success was a standard practice, at least among those given to fancy compliments. The General’s many grandiloquent phrases reflect both his highly formal manners and his particular interest in Catherine, an interest that will continue to appear and that will be explained fully toward the novel’s end. These qualities make it harder for Catherine to perceive the less attractive sides of him, which he will also manifest continually even amidst his attempts to please her.
9. In fact, the General has taken lodgings on one of the most elegant streets in Bath, and will soon reveal, in his return trip and at his home, both great wealth and a strong inclination to display it.
10. For why the idea of an abbey, a general term for either a monastery or a convent, would thrill Catherine, see note 17.
11. saving clause: proviso, stipulation. The term was often used in law, and sometimes applied to other contexts.
12. waited on: called on.
13. By “philosophy” he means a philosophical attitude of resignation toward inevitable evils, an attitude frequently praised at the time.
14. Proving his respectability would be one reason for General Tilney to call on the Allens. The Allens would be expected, based on their experience with him and the other members of his family, to decide whether the Tilneys could be trusted to host Catherine.
15. “Return of post” originally referred to replying to a message by sending one back with the courier who brought it, but by this time the meaning was becoming simply “by the next mail.”
16. sister: sister-in-law. This is standard usage in the language of the time, a reflection of the closeness of family ties and of the virtual impossibility of divorce, which meant that a sister or brother by marriage was usually as permanent as one by blood.