Jane Austen’s Inheritance And Innovation Of The Gothic Novel

Influenced by the Gothic novel and inspired by The Mysteries of Udolpho, Austencomposed her unique work, Northanger Abbey, which is different from her other fivenovels. The novel Northanger Abbey has been discussed mainly from the perspectivesof Feminism and love romance, but few people have studied it from aspect of Gothictradition, exploring its inherent Gothic elements and revealing its meaning andsignificance.Classical Gothic novels always consist of a Gothic villain hero, an unfortunateheroine, a mysterious and horrid old building and supernatural things and so on.Northanger Abbey’s inheritance of The Mysteries of Udolpho can be seen from threeways, characters, plots and themes. In the aspect of plots, heroine’s love is inherited; inthe aspect of characters, the inheritance lies in the unfortunate heroines, Catherine inNorthanger Abbey and Emily in The Mysteries of Udolpho; in the aspect of theme, theawakening consciousness of female which includes the awakening consciousness ofrebellion and the awakening consciousness of marriage.As to the innovation of Northanger Abbey, it can be seen from three perspectives,the setting, the character and the plot. The three facets are different from those oftraditional Gothic type, and Austen displays them in her own way.In the aspect of setting, the old abbey gets modern appearance and the furnitureexhibits distinguished taste which is different from mysterious and horrifying castle.Austen does not create a depressive and passive ambience for readers. As for thecharacter, Austen gives up traditional Gothic villain’s brutality; the General is humaneunder her description. Concerning the plot, John Thorpe’s “revenge” for love wasweakened in its cruelty for the sake of humanity.As far as the attitude toward Gothic literature is concerned, Radcliffe’s ubiquitous Gothic descriptions and ideas show her positive attitude toward Gothic literature, whileAusten exhibits her ambivalent opinions.Northanger Abbey’s inheritance and innovation of the Gothic novel The Mysteriesof Udolpho has an intrinsic value and important social significance. On one hand, itdespises the evil side of human nature, such as the vanity and hypocrisy of GeneralTilney; on the other hand, it glorifies human’s truth, kindness and beauty, the General’sfatherly love just shows that even a villain can possess merit.Based on the analysis of Gothic novels and the comparison and contrast of the twonovels, this thesis explores Northanger Abbey’s inheritance and innovation of TheMysteries of Udolpho, with an eye to revealing the literary and social significance, itglorifies goodness in human nature, praises beauty in life, and condemns the evils ofsociety.