The Annotated Northanger Abbey
Page 39
Milton Abbey, Northamptonshire, an example of a country house that was originally an abbey. In this case, almost the entire old building was demolished and rebuilt in the eighteenth century.
[From John Preston Neale, Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen, Vol. I (London, 1818)]
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17. Castles and abbeys played central roles in Gothic novels, for they were particularly characteristic of the Middle Ages, were large, and had often fallen into decay in later times, all of which made them ideal settings for elaborate horrors and mysteries. All of Ann Radcliffe’s novels showcase abbeys or castles.
18. Ramparts are the outer defensive walls of a castle, while a keep is its inner stronghold, often a tower. Cloisters are passageways or secluded areas within abbeys.
19. Large country houses usually had names that included one of the designations listed in this sentence.
20. These are typical features of an abbey in Gothic stories, serving to enhance the appropriate sense of foreboding and of past tragedy. This passage marks the beginning of a shift in Austen’s literary parody. Until now the author has ridiculed other novels by using her own commentary to contrast their extravagant conventions, especially the extraordinary behavior and adventures of their heroines, with the prosaic reality of Catherine’s experiences. Now, however, she will show these tales’ absurdity through their effects on Catherine’s imagination and conduct.
21. awful: dreadful; tending to inspire awe.
22. wonderful: astonishing, incredible.
23. person: personal appearance.
24. The English Reformation of the early sixteenth century led to the dissolution of monasteries and convents, and their sale or distribution by the Crown. Many landowning families prominent in Austen’s time had first emerged as possessors of the ample properties attached to monasteries or convents. The buyer of such a property would frequently convert the abbey building itself, which was generally large, into a residence, while retaining the edifice’s original name. The home of the hero of Emma is called Donwell Abbey for this reason.
25. Owners of older houses would often tear down all or part of the building and replace it with newer construction, whether because of the poor state of the original or because they wished for something more comfortable and more in line with current fashions.
26. Buildings from earlier centuries tended to be placed in low, sheltered positions for protection against assault or shelter from wind. During the eighteenth century the interest in fine prospects or views from a house led to their placement on elevated ground. In Emma the aforementioned Donwell Abbey is described as suffering from “all the old neglect of prospect.”
VOLUME II, CHAPTER III
1. sensible: cognizant, conscious.
2. The source of Isabella’s information about Northanger Abbey, and of her interest in it, will quickly become apparent.
3. absent: absentminded, inattentive.
4. Her use of “Tilney” without “Mr.” or, in this case, “Captain,” indicates a strong degree of familiarity; usually only good friends would be permitted that. Moreover, it would still be improper to speak of him in that manner to Catherine, who has no such familiarity with him.
An older house (Kirklees Hall, Yorkshire) in a relatively low, sheltered position.
[From John Preston Neale, Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen, Vol. V (London, 1822)]
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5. Modesty, one of the most widely praised and emphasized virtues for women, would include disclaiming or downplaying knowledge of another person’s affection for oneself. Isabella, always eager to discover any affections directed her way, assumes that only modesty could account for Catherine’s expression of surprise.
6. John Thorpe did not make Catherine an offer (i.e., an offer of marriage), even implicitly, though he said enough to give some justification for his assumption.
A contemporary picture of the Pump Room from the side.
[From Emma Austen-Leigh, Jane Austen and Bath (London, 1939), p. 46]
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7. Isabella’s memory is correct (see this page).
8. might pass: may have passed or occurred. Catherine is using “might” as the past tense of “may,” an older usage that still appeared occasionally in Austen’s time.
9. She means that if Catherine marries Henry Tilney and Isabella marries his elder brother, they will also have a sisterly connection, even if not quite as close. This implication is likely lost on Catherine.
10. tease: annoy.
11. Her condemnation of the possible match on these grounds is significant, for Catherine and John would probably enjoy at least as great an income as Isabella and James.
12. romancers: writers of romances. The term “romance” was used then for stories that, in contrast to typical novels, were usually set in distant times or places and involved unusual characters and situations very different from those found in ordinary life. Some of the novels satirized in this work, especially the Gothic ones, would fall under the category of romance (though the line between romances and other novels was not always clear). Sentimental ideas of contempt for material concerns or of the superior happiness of humble simplicity were often found in romances, whether in the speeches of the characters, the overt reflections of the narrator, or the thrust of the story itself.
13. This probably means that in her last letter to him Isabella discussed her disappointment regarding the financial settlement offered by the Morlands, which she believes should have alerted John to the unlikelihood that he would get much money from them.
14. Isabella’s warnings about being in a hurry, which contradict her usual impulsive attitude toward life, probably result from regret about her engagement to James Morland.
Two women in examples of current fashions.
[From Elisabeth McClellan, Historic Dress in America, 1800–1870 (Philadelphia, 1910), p. 29]
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15. Talk of hearts is a way for them to speak of love without flagrantly transgressing propriety, though by current standards Captain Tilney’s statement is still overly forward, and Isabella should not respond favorably to it.
A contemporary picture of the Pump Room interior.
[From Emma Austen-Leigh, Jane Austen and Bath (London, 1939), p. 8]
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16. The pain to her brother would come from learning of Isabella’s flirtation, and the pain to Captain Tilney would come from Isabella’s eventual rejection of him.
17. Catherine has segued from thoughts of herself to ones again concerning her brother, a sign of her generosity and her affection for him.
A young woman by Sir Thomas Lawrence, the leading portrait painter of the day.
[From The Masterpieces of Lawrence (London, 1913), p. 15]
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VOLUME II, CHAPTER IV
1. manners: behavior.
2. object: object of pity or worry.
A man in daytime dress.
[From Elisabeth McClellan, Historic Dress in America, 1800–1870 (Philadelphia, 1910), p. 421]
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3. Henry will later offer a more definite account of his brother’s motivations during this period, though only after subsequent behavior has provided him more clues (this page).
4. lively: lighthearted, playful, vivacious.
5. Army officers stationed in Britain tended to follow a fairly relaxed routine, which could include going away for substantial, though not indefinite, leaves.
6. drink: drink to, toast.
7. A mess was a group of soldiers who ate meals together. Officers within a regiment, the basic unit of the British army, would form a mess, financed by subscription fees, and the mess would often be at the center of military social life.
An army officer.
[From William Alexander, Picturesque Representations of the Dress & Manners of the English (1813), Plate
50]
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8. This contrasts with Isabella’s earlier behavior, when she neglected Catherine in favor of James on those occasions when all were present. Her friendliness toward Catherine here may partly reflect the latter’s close connection with the Tilneys.
9. placed: attributed.
10. fair ones: members of the fairer sex (here, Catherine and Isabella).
Carriages stopping at a posting inn.
[From Joseph Grego, Rowlandson the Caricaturist, Vol. I (London, 1880), p. 213]
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VOLUME II, CHAPTER V
1. As it turns out, Catherine and the Tilneys are leaving on Friday (see chronology, this page), rather than on Saturday as originally planned (this page). Presumably the General’s impatience has made them advance the day.
2. doubted whether she might not have felt less: wondered whether she might have experienced fewer unpleasant feelings.
3. Breakfast usually consisted of different breads, and perhaps cakes, along with tea and coffee. Eggs or meat could be served as well, but were not standard—though the “variety” described here might indicate their presence.
Breakfast.
[From Max von Boehn, Modes & Manners of the Nineteenth Century, Vol. I (London, 1909), p. 105]
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4. carrying down: being carried down. This usage is found elsewhere in Austen’s novels. Trunks were what people would pack their clothes in for traveling.
5. fixed: determined with precision.
6. A curricle is an open carriage. This openness, and the month being March at present, would make a heavy coat desirable for traveling. It is probable that the coat’s being spread out in the carriage was a mistake caused by the bustle and confusion being described.
7. The chaise (from the French for “chair”) and the coach were the two principal types of enclosed carriage in this period. A chaise, which could hold up to three passengers sitting in a row, was popular for travel because its small size allowed for greater speed than a coach (a coach seated two rows of three people, facing each other). Many chaises had a fixed seat for three; others, such as this one, had two fixed seats, with one in the middle that could be drawn out when needed. The third person here is Eleanor’s lady’s maid, who would accompany her mistress on her travels in order to take care of her clothes and personal articles and to help her with dressing and grooming. Some of the parcels the maid has put in the carriage could go in a space under the seat; the others would have to rest at the feet or on the laps of the travelers. The trunks would be placed on the outside of the carriage, strapped on or put in special compartments.
8. A writing desk is a small wooden item that would be placed on a regular desk or a table. It contains writing materials such as pen and ink, and has a flap that folds out to provide a surface for writing. Bath would be a good place to buy a writing desk; many of Eleanor’s parcels probably also contain new purchases.
9. A milestone would stick up out of the ground with the mile number on it, and hence would be visible to a traveler through the window of the carriage.
10. Petty France is a town northeast of Bath; it is fourteen and a half miles away by road according to contemporary guides, and hence makes an ideal stopping point between their two equal stages of travel (see this map). A “bait” is a stop to provide rest and refreshment for horses. That these horses are “highly [very well] fed” indicates that General Tilney takes good care of them, which is why he allows two hours for their rest. He may do that from pride in his horses, or from economy, for overworked horses needed replacing more frequently.
11. A chaise with four horses instead of two would be more expensive, and hence “fashionable,” a term then designating things or people connected with the upper ranks of society.
12. Postilions were men who directed horses by riding directly on them, which is why they are “rising . . . regularly in their stirrups”; they were used for chaises, which did not have a seat for a coachman (see facing page). Liveries were special uniforms worn by most male servants: each genteel family had its own distinctive livery, which was usually brightly colored and elaborately decorated, thereby displaying the wealth and importance of the family. Livery uniforms were worn only by male servants because men were much more expensive to hire than women and hence were a sign of prestige, and because male servants performed tasks—such as answering doors, serving guests, taking messages, and accompanying carriages—that exposed them heavily to public view.
13. “Outriders” signifies men on horseback who are accompanying the carriage. They are likely servants who followed the Tilneys to Bath, such as the footman earlier mentioned (this page), and who now need to return with them.
14. The normal procedure for long-distance travel was to go post, which meant hiring horses at inns all along the way (whether also using a hired carriage or using one’s own). The horses would go as fast as possible for approximately ten miles, at which point the carriage would stop at another inn for a new set of horses. The system, which extended throughout the country by this time and was well organized, allowed travelers to continue without interruption unless they wished to stop for food or rest, rather than waiting two hours as in this case. General Tilney has reduced some of the inconvenience of his method by using four horses, instead of two for the chaise. Four horses would normally be employed for extra speed—ten miles per hour instead of the seven to eight of a chaise with two horses—but instead, by having his horses proceed at “the sober pace” described above, he has enabled them to advance as quickly as a two-horse chaise with less strain, and therefore to go fifteen rather than ten miles before stopping. The speed of the horses can be confirmed by the timing of the journey, a little after ten to leave Bath and a little after four to arrive (see this page), which, combined with a two-hour stopover, would mean four hours to go thirty miles, and thus seven to eight miles an hour overall. (Later General Tilney, for a drive of almost twenty miles in the chaise and four, estimates two hours and three quarters, which would require the same speed—see this page and this page). For the ability of the accompanying curricle to maintain at least this pace, see note 19.
15. The General is revealed later to be a gourmand, and an inn on the road would lack the quality and variety that his taste and his wealth procure him at home.
16. Any impropriety would be lessened by having an older man in an adjacent carriage, though many might still object to having Henry and Catherine ride alone in a carriage. The General’s willingness to propose it indicates his strong interest in promoting greater intimacy between the two young people.
17. equipage: carriage.
18. heavy: dull.
19. Curricles were open carriages and thus much lighter than even small enclosed vehicles like chaises. They were also more powerful than the similarly open gig carriage, because curricles featured two horses rather than a gig’s one. This combination of lightness and power allowed curricles to attain great speeds, or, when going the same speed as another vehicle, to put less strain on the horses and thereby reduce the time needed for them to rest.
20. parading: showing off, acting or speaking ostentatiously.
21. Greatcoats, long coats worn by men, had capes, which were flaps attached to the collar and extending down to the chest. Capes could be turned up over the wearer’s head to protect him against inclement weather. They could also look impressive, and might appear more so when a carriage ride made them flap.
22. uncomfortably: unpleasantly.
23. establishment: residence, including household staff.
24. Woodston, it is implied, is where Henry is the incumbent local clergyman. The reason, confirmed later, he can still make Northanger half his home, and spend many weeks in Bath, is that he has a curate, a clergyman hired by the incumbent to perform some or all of the work in the parish. Many clergymen hired curates, in part because the abundance of qualified clergymen relative to the availability of
positions meant there were many willing to work for modest stipends.
25. These are both common features of Gothic horror novels. The older houses in which Gothic tales are set frequently had walls made of wooden panels as well as tapestries; the latter served both as decoration and as insulation, which was needed in the often drafty and poorly heated structures. Many novelists exploited these features by placing secret passages or compartments behind sliding panels or tapestries.
26. Both The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Romance of the Forest, Ann Radcliffe’s previous novel, center around old buildings entered unannounced, after a period of abandonment. As Henry’s fanciful scenario of Gothic horrors unfolds, these two books will continue to form crucial sources, though he could also draw upon many other books of the time with similar elements.
27. As Emily, the heroine of Udolpho, explores that mysterious castle, she frequently confronts dark spaces and passageways, as well as hidden rooms with little or no furniture—though none without doors. Here as elsewhere Henry takes Gothic conventions to a heightened extreme.
An older tapestry.
[From J. Alfred Gotch, The English Home from Charles I to George IV (New York, 1918), p. 366]
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28. snugly: comfortably.
29. When Emily goes to the castle of Udolpho she is housed in a room far from others, reached only by extensive hallways. Later, a French château that plays a key role in the story has an elderly housekeeper named Dorothée.
30. Both Emily and the heroine of The Romance of the Forest, Adeline, are lodged in large, imposing rooms, and suffer from weak or intermittent lighting as they survey and explore these places.