The Annotated Northanger Abbey
Page 42
46. The tea house would be a small house on the grounds where tea or other refreshments could be enjoyed during warmer weather. It would be placed in an attractive spot, which may be why General Tilney proposes a walk there—in addition to his wish to show off another possession, one that Catherine might otherwise miss, since it is not next to the Abbey.
47. The path’s gloominess, along with its winding nature and the age of its trees, would appeal to Gothic sensibilities.
48. Dampness was considered a threat to health. In one of Jane Austen’s youthful stories, “Catharine, or the Bower,” a hypochondriacal old woman panics upon discovering that she has stayed out in the night air, with all its possible dampness.
A winding path, a popular feature of landscaped grounds of the time.
[From Siegel, Descriptions pittoresques de jardins du goût le plus moderne (Leipzig, 1802), Plate IE]
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49. easy: relaxed, unembarrassed.
50. A glorification of melancholy was linked to the growing Romantic movement of the time, and connected in many ways with the taste for Gothic novels. Catherine is of course delighted by an atmosphere suggestive of those novels.
51. As an unmarried young woman, Eleanor would not be able to travel freely on her own.
52. Wealthy families would normally have portraits painted of their principal members.
Painting a portrait.
[From William Combe, The Second Tour of Doctor Syntax (London, 1820; 1903 reprint), p. 231]
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53. “Art” here means cunning or cleverness. Catherine regards her inquiry as consummately guileful, and blushes, because otherwise she almost never employs such maneuvers, no matter how elementary.
54. The obvious interpretation of the General’s directive is that he wishes to show off his house to his guest personally. Catherine, however, ignores such a surmise in favor of more speculative theories, just as above she leaps to an assumption of marital cruelty on the basis of the slightest evidence.
A portrait painter’s home.
[From William Combe, The History of Johnny Quae Genus (London, 1822; 1903 reprint), p. 188]
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VOLUME II, CHAPTER VIII
1. anti-chamber: antechamber. Antechambers were small foyers attached to principal rooms of a house, in which visitors would wait to be conducted into the room. Antechambers had arisen in the late seventeenth century, a time when an elaborate ritual governed the reception of visitors and their ability to gain access to a person of high social rank. A relaxation of formality, and softening of hierarchical distinctions among the upper layers of society, gradually reduced such rituals and obviated the functions of antechambers.
2. of consequence: of social importance and distinction.
3. Satin was an expensive material used for curtains and upholstery, as well as for finer articles of clothing. In Pride and Prejudice, the heroine, after having toured some grand houses, speaks of the many satin curtains she has seen.
4. fitting up: furnishings.
A private library.
[From John Swarbrick, Robert Adam and his Brothers (New York, 1915), p. 232]
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5. A private library was a fundamental feature of any large residence, and often was of impressive size and magnificently decorated. During this period it had also become a room for general socializing in many homes, though it is not clear here if that is the case. The books probably represent the accumulation of many generations, for books had long been precious and expensive objects, and families took pride in amassing collections.
6. Intricacy would appeal to Catherine, for it was a feature of Gothic architecture and would suggest the mysteriousness and convoluted plots of Gothic novels.
7. A cloister was a covered passageway within a monastery or convent, typically running around an open court. Cells, the private rooms of monks and nuns, would often open off a cloister, as seems to be the case here.
8. A special billiard room was a popular feature of large houses. John Thorpe earlier spoke of playing billiards with General Tilney.
9. Catherine’s disorientation would remind her of what the heroines of novels suffered as they attempted to find their way around dark houses with mysterious layouts and hidden passageways.
10. owning: acknowledging.
11. litter: disorderly collection or accumulation.
12. The guns are for shooting game birds. If he owns more than one greatcoat it would be a sign of wealth, for greatcoats were expensive.
Shooting game birds.
[From The Repository of arts, literature, fashions, manufactures, &c, Vol. III (1810), p. 324]
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13. The General is hoping to impress Catherine with the grandeur of his house, with the purpose of making her more inclined to marry his son. However, his actions suggest he also derives great pleasure in confirming his grandeur to himself—a predilection shown in the previous paragraph also when he “satisfied his own curiosity, in a close examination of every well-known ornament.”
14. Quick communication, or passage, between the kitchen and dining room would facilitate the serving of meals and prevent food from becoming cold before reaching the table, a common problem then. Proximity to the kitchen may have encouraged the selection of this room as the dining room; a passage or stairway may also have been created to speed access.
15. Massive walls were a feature of large medieval buildings generally, while smoke would permeate them because cooking was done on large open hearths. The wording suggests smoke residue is still present on the walls.
16. Stoves had become a normal feature of kitchens in the eighteenth century; they were heated by charcoal or coal. Hot closets, also called hot cupboards, were containers to keep food warm before serving.
17. The late eighteenth century witnessed an increased pursuit of technical improvements and innovations in almost every area of life. These improvements also encouraged the period’s widespread belief in social progress. Thus General Tilney’s renovations, in addition to making his home more convenient and efficient, could inspire him with a feeling of contributing to progress; given his vanity, this would be a strong spur to action.
18. theatre: center of action; place where an action is performed.
19. genius: creative capacity.
20. Many landowners not only oversaw but also helped design improvements for their homes and estates.
21. Prior to the English Reformation, wealthy benefactors had played an important role in supporting convents, which would include constructing or remodeling their buildings. General Tilney continues in their line, even though this is no longer a convent.
22. Large country houses often consisted of sections built at different times, as later owners added to the original building or replaced parts of it.
23. offices: rooms where practical tasks were performed. These tasks included cooking, food preservation, laundry, and the cleaning of household items.
24. Multiple stable yards indicate the large number of horses kept, whether for riding, hunting, pulling a carriage, or work on the land.
25. “but if he had a vanity . . . offices”: This phrase, and the phrases that follow it in this sentence, are the General’s own expressions. Here, he is subtly revising his earlier claim of having a singular pet passion for fruit cultivation; he now claims his one vanity is the furnishing of his servants’ offices.
26. accommodations: arrangements.
27. General Tilney articulates the usual upper-class paternalism of the time. This attitude combined an unembarrassed labeling of those of low rank as “inferiors,” based on an acceptance of inequality as natural and proper, with a belief that those of high rank should use their wealth and privilege to ameliorate and soften the necessarily hard lot of those beneath them.
A maid washing clothes.
[From George Dawe, The Life of George Morland (Lon
don, 1909), p. 120]
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28. A scullery is a room where dishes and kitchen utensils are washed, and sometimes stored. “Fullerton” here means the Allens’ house; this usage will recur. Grand houses sometimes took their names from the village in which they were built.
29. Complexes like this in large houses would contain a variety of rooms, each for a specific set of household chores.
30. The girl is one of the maidservants, who tended to be young. Girls from poor families usually started working in early adolescence, with domestic service the principal occupation open to them, and would hope to quit while still young in order to marry. Stopping to curtsy to their employers was an expected token of respect. “Pattened” means wearing pattens, attachments to shoes for keeping them dry. A patten consisted of a wooden platform supported by small iron stilts a few inches long with straps to bind the contraption to the sole of one’s shoe; it would raise one’s foot from the ground (see facing page). Pattens were worn especially by female servants.
31. Footmen, the principal male indoor servants, wore a livery while on duty (see note 12); maintaining a splendid public appearance was an important part of their job. Those referred to here have loosened or undone some of their uniform while in the servants’ quarters, where they would not expect to see their master, and are now sneaking away to avoid his gaze.
32. Households that could afford only one or two servants would always have female ones, since women were much cheaper to hire than men and the most essential chores of cooking and cleaning were considered mostly or exclusively female tasks. As the mistress of a large household, Mrs. Allen would understand well how much labor such a home required, but practical details of this sort were often ignored by Gothic novelists. Mrs. Allen’s having often noticed this inconsistency suggests that she is a regular reader of Gothic novels, which raises the question of Catherine’s possible familiarity with them before going to Bath; for more, see note 5.
33. The main staircase was described earlier as “of shining oak.” Such staircases, usually near the entrance and meant to impress visitors, would be made of high-quality wood, often with elaborate carvings.
34. Galleries were large rooms, and in older houses they could be very long, for traditionally they also served as places to walk back and forth when weather prohibited outdoor exercise.
35. A bedroom normally had an adjacent dressing room, which could function as a personal living room used for a variety of purposes, including social activities with others. The “private apartment” of General Tilney through which they passed earlier may be another bedroom–dressing room combination; the term could refer to either an individual bedroom or such a pairing.
36. Houses would sometimes maintain especially opulent rooms for the accommodation of socially important guests, whose visit would be a mark of distinction. The grandest homes, built by those of a higher level than the Tilneys, had special state rooms reserved solely for accommodating members of the royal family, in case any ever came.
37. Folding doors, with separate sections attached by hinges, were popular for creating an enfilade of rooms, since the more compact size into which such doors folded meant they could be more easily left open.
38. This is one of many instances of Eleanor’s quick compliance with her father’s directives, even when expressed, as here, in the form of a polite suggestion. This conduct, from someone who does not seem otherwise meek or timid, suggests how little he brooks any opposition to his will; one can imagine she has learned from bitter experience the consequences of crossing him. It is a measure of Catherine’s naïveté and immersion in Gothic fantasy that she gives less notice to the General’s domination of his children than to this part of the house remaining hidden from her.
An elaborately carved staircase.
[From J. Alfred Gotch, The English Home from Charles I to George IV (New York, 1918), p. 125]
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39. Looks could denote information of great significance in Gothic tales. In one well-known novel, Regina Maria Roche’s Clermont (1798), a character discovers the guilt of her father by observing his pointed gaze at a picture of Cain murdering Abel.
40. wronging him: maligning him.
41. attitude: physical posture.
42. Montoni is the principal villain of The Mysteries of Udolpho. He treats his wife, the aunt of the heroine, with great cruelty, eventually locking her away and causing her to expire through harsh treatment.
A portrait of a mother with a girl.
[From The Masterpieces of Lawrence (London, 1913), p. 22]
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43. Eleanor, as the mistress of the household, would normally be the one to ring the bell calling for a servant.
44. General Tilney would need to carry a candle to guide him to his room: the cost of candles and lamps made it prohibitively expensive to keep halls and stairways well lit. The butler was the head male servant, who would have the privilege of directly answering the master’s call (if the desired task required other servants, they would receive orders from the butler).
45. Pamphlets on political matters were published continually during this period, playing a significant role in current debates. General Tilney may read the pamphlets out of genuine interest or out of a sense of duty; the latter aspect is suggested in his statement below about reading “for the good of others.” Wealthy landowners dominated both local and national politics, and the belief in their special qualification for rule, which undergirded this dominance, also led to a belief in their obligation to use their abilities and power to serve the common good.
46. meetly: appropriately, suitably.
47. blinding: becoming blind.
48. That is, the increased personal beauty resulting from well-rested eyes will produce the mischief of inspiring more infatuation among men. Bright or beautiful eyes are often mentioned in Austen’s novels as an important part of a woman’s allure, as they also are in other writings of the time. One reason was that the face was the only part of the body, aside from the hands, that was openly displayed. Moreover, cosmetics were frowned upon and only sparingly used, so other parts of the face less interesting than the eyes could not be given any special shine or color.
49. object: reason.
50. family: household. The term could sometimes encompass a family’s servants as well.
51. stupid: dull.
52. natural: normal.
53. revolving: pondering, considering.
54. monastic division: division into cells. Catherine is thinking of the cell doors she has seen leading off the cloister.
55. insensibility: unconsciousness.
56. appalled: terrified, disheartened.
57. This sentence echoes the conclusion of the chapter in The Mysteries of Udolpho in which the heroine arrives at Udolpho. After describing her fear and wonder as she lies in her room, it ends, “The castle clock struck one before she closed her eyes to sleep.”
An internal doorway at Godmersham Park, Kent, the home of Jane Austen’s brother Edward. Her visits there undoubtedly aided her in imagining and describing grand houses like Northanger Abbey.
[From J. Alfred Gotch, The English Home from Charles I to George IV (New York, 1918), p. 357]
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VOLUME II, CHAPTER IX
1. Cold meat was eaten as a casual meal. It is the staple of their diet today because it is Sunday. Not forcing the servants to prepare a regular meal (which, due to the limited cooking technology available, required substantial effort) would allow them to work less. A trend at this time, encouraged by a prominent movement promoting it, was to make Sunday a more purely religious day and to discourage other activities, including work. The General’s adherence to this mandate, despite his own love of eating, indicates his punctiliousness, as does his attendance at two services.
2. Prominent families had their own pew in a church. Since the Tilneys are probably the leading local
family, their pew would be at the front.
3. Monuments with elaborate epitaphs for the dead were frequently placed in churches by families that could afford it. They would often be alongside aisles; some could have their own niche and also include sculpted figures.
4. elevated: lofty, dignified.
5. The “retirement” would be to a monastery or convent. Gothic stories frequently involved Catholic characters, due to their being set in the Middle Ages or in countries like France and Italy.
Catherine’s remembrance of “dozens” of such villains indicates a long familiarity with Gothic novels. This, which is supported by other incidents in this section of the book, makes sense in general, but it does conflict with the ignorance Catherine expressed earlier, when talking to Isabella, about Ann Radcliffe’s works (this page). Since Radcliffe was by far the most popular of Gothic novelists, any devotee of such novels would certainly have read her. In that conversation Catherine explained her lack of exposure to Radcliffe by saying that “new books do not fall in our way,” which could perhaps signal familiarity with earlier Gothic or proto-Gothic novels. But Radcliffe, whose first book appeared in 1790, thirteen years before the completion of Northanger Abbey, was one of the genre’s earliest practitioners; most others were imitating her. The implausibility of Catherine’s ignorance of Radcliffe is furthered by the line in the previous chapter suggesting Mrs. Allen’s familiarity with Gothic novels (see note 32): given the Allens’ wealth, Mrs. Allen certainly would have procured the most popular examples of any books she liked, and given the Allens’ friendliness toward Catherine, she would have been able to borrow them freely.
Thus the true explanation must lie with an oversight on the part of Jane Austen. She wished to have Isabella introduce Catherine to The Mysteries of Udolpho and similar works, for that means that just as Isabella led Catherine astray in Bath, until superseded by the wiser influence of Henry and Eleanor, so she is partly responsible for Catherine’s folly at Northanger (one that will also be corrected by Henry). But, when Austen comes to depict this later folly, she ends up suggesting, presumably to make it more plausible and fully developed, a more longstanding origin.