Jane Austen is universally known for her unique, intimate and precise descriptions of daily life in late 18th and early 19th century England, and her plot are often focused on humorous adventures. of women trying to navigate the structures of polite society. Although Austen's first novel, Northanger Abbey (1803), did not amass the same cultural following as some of her others, the text is nonetheless notable as an introduction to Austen's typically "realistic" writing style. 'Austen. The story intimately follows the exploits of Catherine Moreland, whose attempts to navigate English society are often made humorous by her imaginative view of reality, deeply influenced by Gothic novels. In many ways, Northanger Abbey is notable for its decidedly "Austenian" sense of humor, which is particularly evident in the way Austen parodies the popular Gothic novels of her time. However, the novel functions as a parody of the Gothic novel in order to highlight the true stylistic essence of the novel: realism. Austen experimented with the developing literary trends of the Romantic period (particularly Gothic writing) in order to help establish a new novelistic style focused on ordinary experiences, making Northanger Abbey a definitive text of early literary realism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In order to discuss how gender functions in Austen's text, it is necessary to understand the theories of realism and gothic as specific genres. While the term "realism" implies that novels of this genre are based on descriptions of "real people" and their "real experiences", Richard Chase expands on this notion in the following statement: "The aim of the [realistic] novel English is to convey the impression of fidelity to human experience” (12). Austen's work exemplifies an early style of realism that simply focuses on the minute details of certain characters' experiences during a specific segment of their lives. It is not representative of a universal human experience, but of a specific human experience, and therefore each reality illustrated in each of Austen's books is determined by how the protagonist interprets that reality. However, the Romantic period (from which Austen's novels emerged) is the one that gave even more credence to the rise of the Gothic genre, which describes novels focused on horror, death, and the supernatural (Hogle and Smith 2). Needless to say, the Gothic novel provides an entirely fictional sense of reality, and works in this genre directly juxtapose the non-fictional realities presented by realistic fiction. Although the realism of Northanger Abbey is evident throughout the text, the way in which Austen parodies Gothic fiction does not become directly apparent until the second and final volume of the novel. This final part of the story follows Catherine as she is invited to stay with the Tilney family at their historic country house, a former convent called Northanger Abbey. In a series of humorous exchanges and experiences, Catherine's visions of Northanger Abbey as a place straight out of her Gothic novels are repeatedly usurped by a non-fictional reality, where Northanger Abbey is like any other home in late 18th century England. While Austen parodies the Gothic novel through Catherine's disappointed expectations, she creates the basis for a realistic novel by juxtaposing the Gothic elements withentirely realistic and completely non-fictional narrative elements. While the story builds on Catherine's anticipation of traveling to the estate, she is shown imagining it as if it were a place she would find in one of her gothic novels beloved. She preemptively describes her “. . . the long damp passages, the narrow cells and the ruined chapel must have been within her daily reach, and she could not entirely master the hope of some traditional legends, of horrible memorials of a wounded and unhappy nun" (147) . Her excitement about visiting a "real Gothic house" is further heightened during a conversation with Henry Tilney, who uses his own knowledge of Gothic novels to invent a frightening description of the house for Catherine (167). In Catherine's excitement about visiting Northanger Abbey, she abandons all non-fictional sense of reality and creates a fictional reality from her Gothic-influenced imagination. His arrival at the estate is therefore marked by a feeling of unfulfilled expectation. It is said that “Passing between modern-looking lodges, finding yourself with such ease within the very enclosure of the abbey, and driving so quickly on a level and flat path of fine gravel, without obstacle, without alarm or solemnity of any nature seemed strange and incoherent to him” (169). Instead of describing the ruins of a castle, Austen creates a place entirely marked by the ordinary and the mundane. The humor of this moment is limited to the nature of the plot and the character's experience: the audience is amused by Catherine's tacit disappointment at the banality of the field. The importance of this moment is that it shows how Austen confronts Catherine with a reality that directly contradicts her considerably overactive imagination, ultimately revealing to Catherine (and therefore the audience) the truth of reality in that particular era. The second example of a confrontation between Gothic fiction and non-fictional reality is that Catherine reveals herself to be deeply intrigued by a manuscript found in an “old-fashioned black cabinet” (177). However, in her efforts to open the study and in her discovery of this manuscript, Austen writes in a way that gives the impression that Catherine is imagining herself as a Gothic heroine. Even in her attempts to open the cabinet, the tension is increased by Catherine's description, "placing the candle very carefully on a chair, she grasped the key with a very trembling hand and tried to turn it" (178). . While Catherine may place a lot of suspense on the opening of this mysterious object, the audience is encouraged to laugh at these efforts because of the reality of the situation: the opening of a cabinet. In this way, the parodic elements of the novel do not appear in direct satire of specific Gothic tropes or characteristics; rather, the humor is found in the way Catherine interprets and reacts to a “gothic” reality. Catherine's humorous imagination as a Gothic heroine is only encouraged when, after obtaining the manuscript, she blows out her own candle and pretends that the wind blew. the flame goes out. After creating this gothic atmosphere, Catherine is overcome by a feeling of self-induced terror: "Alas! It was extinguished and extinguished in one go. A lamp could not have expired with a more terrible effect. Catherine, for a few moments, was motionless with horror. It was completely over; not a remnant of light in the wick could give hope to the reviving breath. The impenetrable and immobile darkness filled the room. A violent gust of wind, rising with sudden fury, added new horror to the moment "Catherine trembled from head to toe" (180)..