Talk:Northanger Abbey

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Migottlieb, Bdahik. Peer reviewers: Jkburton, Mlh3.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 05:25, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Plot Summary Change
At one point in the summary it is mentioned that although Catherine has realized that Isabella is a dishonest person she will miss her as a friend. I would like to if possible clarify that as I currently have read this story, She is not very distressed at losing Isabella's friendship. Please if you disagree, revert the changes I will be making to it. -Anonymous

Added date of publication of Udolpho to plot summary. Kbrewer36 (talk) 18:22, 19 February 2024 (UTC)kbrewer36Kbrewer36 (talk) 18:22, 19 February 2024 (UTC)

Plot
I expanded the plot, as it was incomplete (it kind of stopped abruptly in the middle of the action of the novel). If there is too much detail, or if I missed any important parts, please stick them in! This is the fist major plot summary I've done, so additions/subtractions are completely welcome. well, they ususally are, but you get the idea. --Ecurran 23:25, 5 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Thanks for that, a great help. :: Kevinalewis  :  (Talk Page) / (Desk)  08:11, 6 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Isn't the novel really about Henry, and his slow discovery that his relationship with his father is a fraud? As he comes around to the conclusion that Catherine's gothic fantasies that he offed his wife might not be so far off after all, even if it were through coldness rather than outright murder? The plot described here is only the surface. kwami 04:22, 20 September 2007 (UTC)


 * No, it isn't "really about Henry".. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.68.237.255 (talk) 19:06, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

Character descriptions
I notice that no one has attempted to take on John Thorpe! I significantly rewrote the beginning of Isabella Thorpe's description -- you weren't considered a spinster just because you were approaching your twenties, it was that lacking money to bring to a marriage (for which "dowry" is actually not the best word) was one thing that would make it likely that you could end up becoming a spinster, around your late twenties. Churchh 16:42, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Is Minelli's "the Reluctant Debutante" movie losely based on Northanger Abbey?
It seems to me that many of the movie characters, and part of the plot, are based upon Austen's novel.

Why dat? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.205.251.249 (talk) 09:57, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

Certainly its not for me to challenge Marilyn Butler if she has written...
...that Jane Austen referenced Ann Radcliffe's works, "A Sicilian Romance" and "The Romance of the Forest" somewhere in Northanger Abbey; yet in this section of the article, I have two reasons for reinstating the previous narrative (ie, of 4 March 2010); namely: 1) that narrative is correct --ie, the article's 4 March phrasing (of JA referencing AR's works) can indeed be identified in the novel, in chapter 6, as JA writes a scene referring to 'Udolpho' and 'The Italian' (see source citation to the novel). Plus, the 4 March narrative provides coherence for the reader in that it connects the mention of 'Udolpho' and 'The Italian' with quoting the scene (in chapter 6) of JA's characters talking about 'Udolpho' and 'The Italian'. There is no advantage --and there is confusion-- in inserting Ms Butler's for JA's actual references here.

2) re Ms Butler's references to other Ann Radcliffe novels: If reporting Ms Butler's comments is deemed valuable, then it can be done in this section also. Earlier I requested the location(s) of such references be identified in the novel by specific citation (to the novel). In good faith I again request this be done --here, if not in the article-- if Ms Butler's book is referenced.--Jbeans (talk) 09:40, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Baseball
The reference to baseball in the novel has been used to argue that the game is English, not American, in origin and that rounders is the variant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball#Origins_of_baseball

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_Before_We_Knew_It

Gavinturner (talk) 17:19, 27 November 2010 (UTC)


 * This is a great point, but I think that this is not relevant to the page. It is better suited to Origins of baseball where this information is already located. Lindy Sachse (talk) 23:46, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Money
An editor has inserted a conversion for "400 pounds annually (worth about £13,584.00 in 2005)." Actually, we are warned about trying to convert money from another era using cost of living, or whatever. 13K is pretty modest today, maybe near poverty level in UK. But THEN, the parson could afford a cook, a housekeeper, a horse and shay (with feed for the horse!), entertaining people now and then. In short, a clearly middle-class life, but on the low-end, perhaps. Wages of the underclass were incredibly low and cost-of-living does not reflect that. Student7 (talk) 18:11, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Pronunciation
Is a reference needed for the pronunciation given? I can't object to this pronunciation, but there are other possibilities, such as the placement of the accents, etc. TomS TDotO (talk) 14:33, 17 March 2013 (UTC)

Conversion options
Should this be converted into something usable on this page?

Since you ask, no. 86.176.175.184 (talk) 23:59, 23 December 2016 (UTC)

Editing Plans/Bibliography for Edits
I would like to edit aspects of this page to make it stronger. For example, there are several sections (including "Major Themes," "Development," "Allusions to Other Works," "Historical Source," and "References to Northanger Abbey") that either need additional development, or could be merged with other article sections.

A bibliography I have been compiling to make such changes (among others) includes:
 * Austen, Jane; Fowler, Karen Joy (2006). "Introduction". Jane Austen The Complete Works. New York, New York: Penguin Group. pp. vii. ISBN 9780143039501.
 * Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey'. Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016.
 * Grossman, Jonathan H. "Miscellany: Anne Elliot Bound up in Northanger Abbey: The History of the Joint Publication of Jane Austen's First and Last Complete Novels." Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal, no. 27, June 2005, p. 195.
 * Benis, Toby. "The Neighbors of Northanger Abbey." Eighteenth Century: Theory & Interpretation (University of Pennsylvania Press), vol. 56, no.2, Summer 2015, pp. 179-192
 * Byrne, Paula. The Real Jane Austen: a Life in Small Things. 13th ed., Harper Perennial, 2014.
 * Copeland, Edward, and Juliet McMaster. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
 * Austen, Jane. Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. Edited by Marilyn Gaull, Pearson/Longman, 2005.

Does anyone have any opinions on this? Migottlieb (talk) 15:50, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

Don Quixote
Shouldn't the possible influence of Don Quixote be considered? Rwood128 (talk) 21:29, 13 October 2021 (UTC)
 * See The Female Quixote (1752), a novel by Charlotte Lennox. A major influence on Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.Rwood128 (talk) 21:31, 13 October 2021 (UTC)

The Italian
Why in the paragraph "Allusions to other works" the novel 'The Italian' by Anne Radcliffe hasn't be mentioned at all? I think it should be included, since it is mentioned in Isabella's letter (and her words are quoted in the box). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Fiorelisa (talk • contribs) 14:20, 20 June 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: LIT 3319 Contexts
— Assignment last updated by N.Yil27 (talk) 06:25, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

Characters Section
Is the "Characters" section necessary to this article? Most of it is redundant information from the "Plot summary" section or opinions about the characters. Northanger Abbey does not have a lot of characters nor are their names confusing, so I do not see why this section is needed. Lindy Sachse (talk) 23:55, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Proposed Plan for Changes
Hi, I just wanted to give a heads up on some changes that I plan on making to the page and see if anyone had any feedback.


 * 1) Change the lead section to reflect the information on the page. Right now it is just a very short plot summary but does not touch upon the rest of the article.
 * 2) Remove the character section. I have already talked about this on the talk page, but the characters section seems redundant. It appears to be mainly people's opinions on the characters.
 * 3) Implement the satire section into the major themes. The "Gothic fiction" section works with the "Life lived as in a Gothic novel," and the "Masculine Power" section fits into the "Love, marriage, and high society" section.
 * 4) Add citations to the major themes section and add information. After I make my changes, everything in the major themes section will have a reference.

Lindy Sachse (talk) 03:59, 27 April 2024 (UTC)