A Study Of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey As Female Gothic

As a popular literary genre that originated and flourished in the late 18th century, female Gothic has attracted people's eyes with its horrible scenes and unpredicted dangers. Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey has long been recognized as a satire of the Gothic genre by some critics since its publication. But after a closer reading, it is obvious to us that Jane Austen's real intention is not to mock female Gothic but to preserve and develop it. This thesis attempts to study and reread Northanger Abbey as a sample of female Gothic by analyzing and exploring its Gothic plot and atmosphere, thus expounding Austen's feminist perspectives. Through her delicate characterization and her inclusion of broad Gothic elements, this thesis also tries to prove that Northanger Abbey is a fine sample of female Gothic and a Gothic rereading of this novel will shed new light on Austen's greatness and her contribution to female Gothic as a literary genre. Gothicism and feminism are the dual focuses of this study and the general conclusion is that female Gothic is the defining characteristic of Northanger Abbey.