catherine & tilney for life

formerly fuck yeah northanger abbey

[bethanydelleman]

Northanger Abbey Readthrough, Ch 3

❤️❤️HENRY TILNEY HAS ARRIVED!❤️❤️

The master of the ceremonies, Mr. King, who introduces Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland is one of the two real people mentioned as characters in Austen's novels (the other being Humphrey Repton in Mansfield Park, a real famous landscaper). Mr. King was retired by the time of publication.

I love Henry's description:

He seemed to be about four or five and twenty, was rather tall, had a pleasing countenance, a very intelligent and lively eye, and, if not quite handsome, was very near it. His address was good, and Catherine felt herself in high luck.

Ah, he is well matched with "almost pretty" Catherine Morland.

Henry Tilney is a lot like a male Elizabeth Bennet, "there was an archness and pleasantry in his manner" and "there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner" (Pride & Prejudice, Ch 10) sound very similar. We also have the descriptions of their eyes being intelligent.

Now because I believe in Henry Tilney Supremacy, let me point out that Henry went to a ball where he didn't know anyone and instead of making everyone else uncomfortable (DARCY!) or just not going and doing his business (Knightley), he uses of the Master of Ceremonies to get a partner and then is just delightful. Darcy begins with insulting Elizabeth and Henry begins by being utterly charming. Just the best guy.

He starts with a hilarious bit, and while Catherine isn't sure if she's allowed to laugh, she's clearly enjoying herself. Then Tilney offers two opposing things for her to write in her journal:

Friday, went to the Lower Rooms; wore my sprigged muslin robe with blue trimmings—plain black shoes—appeared to much advantage; but was strangely harassed by a queer, half-witted man, who would make me dance with him, and distressed me by his nonsense.

or

I danced with a very agreeable young man, introduced by Mr. King; had a great deal of conversation with him—seems a most extraordinary genius—hope I may know more of him. That, madam, is what I wish you to say.

Clearly the second passage is what Catherine would actually write, though maybe not that Tilney was an extraordinary genius. She is having a very good time.

Then they discuss if women or men write better letters. Catherine is unsure that women are superior, and after some gentle teasing Henry basically agrees and says this lovely progressive opinion:

"I should no more lay it down as a general rule that women write better letters than men, than that they sing better duets, or draw better landscapes. In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes."

And then we get to Henry's most famous attribute, he understands muslins!

Catherine is a bit confused by Henry's behaviour, but she does like it (and him). However, we again have some Elizabeth Bennet vibes with this observation, "Mr. Tilney was polite enough to seem interested in what she said; and she kept him on the subject of muslins till the dancing recommenced. Catherine feared, as she listened to their discourse, that he indulged himself a little too much with the foibles of others"

There are many who think Catherine is too unintelligent to be paired with Henry Tilney, but he clearly has more respect for her than Mrs. Allen, who we are told has, "a trifling turn of mind". She is catching more of his jokes than her chaperone.

She has detected a flaw in Mr. Tilney! (This will apparently be very much forgotten later). Catherine also tells something of a lie, but then is immediately honest about it:

Catherine coloured, and said, “I was not thinking of anything.” “That is artful and deep, to be sure; but I had rather be told at once that you will not tell me.” “Well then, I will not.”

The narrator then points out that it is very bad for a heroine to think fondly of a man before he is known to love her. This is a reference to a ridiculous letter in The Rambler, where it is written: That a young lady should be in love, and the love of the young gentleman undeclared, is an heterodoxy which prudence, and even policy, must not allow. It's pretty nuts, read the whole thing if you are curious.

And we see proof of Mr. Allen's sensibleness, he quickly inquire into Mr. Tilney and finds him to be from a good family and a clergyman. Catherine is being well cared for!

[bethanydelleman]

Northanger Abbey Readthrough Ch 30

Despite having ten whole children, Mrs. Morland notices that Catherine is acting oddly and is concerned about it. She waits a few days before talking to Catherine, which honestly sounds very wise, kudos to her. Then she gets it into her head that the high life at Northanger Abbey has ruined Catherine for home. She's wrong of course, but she is trying her best. How often do parents understand their kids anyway?

I think Jane Austen gets a kick out of bringing in a hero, unlooked for, mid paragraph. It happens here with Henry Tilney, who shows up during Mrs. Morland's search for an essay, it happens with Mr. Darcy turning from the stables at Pemberley, and with Captain Wentworth's arrival in Bath!

I just love this so much:

He was not ill-inclined to obey this request, for, though his heart was greatly relieved by such unlooked-for mildness, it was not just at that moment in his power to say anything to the purpose. Returning in silence to his seat, therefore, he remained for some minutes most civilly answering all Mrs. Morland’s common remarks about the weather and roads. Catherine meanwhile—the anxious, agitated, happy, feverish Catherine—said not a word; but her glowing cheek and brightened eye made her mother trust that this good-natured visit would at least set her heart at ease for a time, and gladly therefore did she lay aside the first volume of The Mirror for a future hour.

Henry can't talk, Catherine is just sitting there all heart eyes. It's so cute! It's so real! I love it so much. I can't even.

Mrs. Morland runs out of things to talk about and Henry finally lightbulb-moments his way into a walk to the Allens. Which Sarah ALMOST RUINS! Thank you, Sarah. Oblivious younger siblings remain a timeless problem. But Mrs. Morland luckily catches on and sends them on their little solitary walk. Mrs. Morland's "silencing nod" seems to be much more effective than Mrs. Bennet's winks at Kitty, by the way.

Such a short proposal description, but it's so lovely:

Some explanation on his father’s account he had to give; but his first purpose was to explain himself, and before they reached Mr. Allen’s grounds he had done it so well that Catherine did not think it could ever be repeated too often. She was assured of his affection; and that heart in return was solicited, which, perhaps, they pretty equally knew was already entirely his own

Now, a lot of people hate this:

I must confess that his affection originated in nothing better than gratitude, or, in other words, that a persuasion of her partiality for him had been the only cause of giving her a serious thought. It is a new circumstance in romance, I acknowledge, and dreadfully derogatory of an heroine’s dignity; but if it be as new in common life, the credit of a wild imagination will at least be all my own.

I have already talked about why a girl liking a boy first is bad (stupid notions of female modesty basically), but I don't understand why people dislike this so much. Yes, it wasn't love at first sight, but there is nothing wrong with liking someone because they like you first! That is literally what happened with Elizabeth Bennet! And it's not like that is the only reason Henry proposed, he realized that she is awesome! It was the regard for him that made him take notice, but that isn't why he defied his father, rode over, and proposed.

I love this, what did the Allens think of them? A very short visit to Mrs. Allen, in which Henry talked at random, without sense or connection, and Catherine, wrapt in the contemplation of her own unutterable happiness, scarcely opened her lips, dismissed them to the ecstasies of another tête-à-tête

Am I saying I love too many things? I WILL KEEP LOVING THINGS! This book is the best! I love it with my whole heart.

Here is a nice rendering of Henry's conversation with his father if you like fan fiction:

In Just Defiance

Now the crazy thing is how important John Thorpe was to the plot. His bragging about Catherine's wealth is the whole reason that Catherine was able to visit the abbey and probably secured her relationship with Henry Tilney, Thorpe's second interference has her sent home in disgrace, the catalyst for Henry's proposal. I don't even know if Henry and Catherine would have got together if it wasn't for that stupid idiot Thorpe! What a weird story!

I love John's lies though, exaggerating wealth and then poverty:

The expectations of his friend Morland, therefore, from the first overrated, had ever since his introduction to Isabella been gradually increasing; and by merely adding twice as much for the grandeur of the moment, by doubling what he chose to think the amount of Mr. Morland’s preferment, trebling his private fortune, bestowing a rich aunt, and sinking half the children, he was able to represent the whole family to the general in a most respectable light.

and then

They were, in fact, a necessitous family; numerous, too, almost beyond example; by no means respected in their own neighbourhood, as he had lately had particular opportunities of discovering; aiming at a style of life which their fortune could not warrant; seeking to better themselves by wealthy connections; a forward, bragging, scheming race. The terrified general pronounced the name of Allen with an inquiring look; and here too Thorpe had learnt his error. The Allens, he believed, had lived near them too long, and he knew the young man on whom the Fullerton estate must devolve.

"lived near them too long" is a great way to describe neighbours who have grown tired of each other.

It says that John is, "spurning a friendship which could be no longer serviceable" which makes me think that he actually ended things with James, not the other way around. Come on, James!

I love Catherine's ultimate conclusion about General Tilney, because I'm totally with her! He's the worst:

Catherine, at any rate, heard enough to feel that in suspecting General Tilney of either murdering or shutting up his wife, she had scarcely sinned against his character, or magnified his cruelty.

Oh the romance of it all, and the first time Henry defies his father:

The general, accustomed on every ordinary occasion to give the law in his family, prepared for no reluctance but of feeling, no opposing desire that should dare to clothe itself in words, could ill brook the opposition of his son, steady as the sanction of reason and the dictate of conscience could make it. But, in such a cause, his anger, though it must shock, could not intimidate Henry, who was sustained in his purpose by a conviction of its justice. He felt himself bound as much in honour as in affection to Miss Morland, and believing that heart to be his own which he had been directed to gain, no unworthy retraction of a tacit consent, no reversing decree of unjustifiable anger, could shake his fidelity, or influence the resolutions it prompted.

I do think it's a sign of Henry's growth that he finally defies his father, but I also get the feeling he's just never had any reason to go against him. It's my impression that he mostly maintained a civil relationship with his father so he could keep visiting Eleanor. Catherine is just the first thing to be important enough for him to fight back. *heart eyes*

IT'S ROMANTIC YOU HATERS!

[bethanydelleman]

Northanger Abbey Readthrough Ch 31

Whew, I have reached the end. That was a lot of work. We'll see if I do another one of these...

but as nothing, after all, could be more natural than Catherine’s being beloved

Awwwww...

Also, the Morlands 🤝Jane Bennet, believing that their beloved person will obviously be beloved by others:

Miss Bennet’s astonishment was soon lessened by the strong sisterly partiality which made any admiration of Elizabeth appear perfectly natural -Pride & Prejudice, Ch 40 (This is when Elizabeth tells Jane about Darcy's first proposal)

having never heard evil of him, it was not their way to suppose any evil could be told.

This becomes a really big deal in Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, and Persuasion, Elinor is constantly asking for more information about Willoughby, Meryton's not knowing about Wickham's character causes havoc, and Mr. Elliot is another case of hidden information revealing his character. Fortunately for Catherine, Henry is perfect.

Now, Henry may have been cut off from his father, but he's by no means poor, Of a very considerable fortune, his son was, by marriage settlements, eventually secure; his present income was an income of independence and comfort, and under every pecuniary view, it was a match beyond the claims of their daughter. It sounds like Woodston is a very good living, probably similar to Edmund's £800/year, so Henry is fully independent without any help from his father. It sounds like he will also inherit a portion of his mother's dowry when his father dies. Catherine bagged a catch! (without knowing it)

Henry returned to what was now his only home, to watch over his young plantations, and extend his improvements for her sake, to whose share in them he looked anxiously forward; and Catherine remained at Fullerton to cry. Whether the torments of absence were softened by a clandestine correspondence, let us not inquire. Mr. and Mrs. Morland never did—they had been too kind to exact any promise; and whenever Catherine received a letter, as, at that time, happened pretty often, they always looked another way.

Oh it's so cute. I can't even. But also, I WANT TO READ THOSE LETTERS!!!! Cruel Authoress, Jane Austen, giving me that tease. I want to read Henry Tilney sending little Gothic stories to Catherine with subtle sexual undertones...

Anyway

Then the narrator is like, "It's obviously the end of the novel, so you know this will resolve soon." Ah yes, so we do. Excellent observation.

Eleanor marries Lord Laundry List and paves the way for Catherine to get her man. This explanation of it is just so good:

I have only to add—aware that the rules of composition forbid the introduction of a character not connected with my fable—that this was the very gentleman whose negligent servant left behind him that collection of washing-bills, resulting from a long visit at Northanger, by which my heroine was involved in one of her most alarming adventures.

To begin perfect happiness at the respective ages of twenty-six and eighteen is to do pretty well

The narrator really comes back in this last chapter and teases us with this immoral "moral" message:

and professing myself moreover convinced that the General’s unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to it, by improving their knowledge of each other, and adding strength to their attachment, I leave it to be settled, by whomsoever it may concern, whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental tyranny, or reward filial disobedience.

Lady Catherine plays this same role in Pride & Prejudice, as an aside. But yes, is the moral of this story that parental tyrants are good for love, or that being a rebellious son is rewarded? Either way, not the sort of moral a good, upstanding citizen should want.

What more can I say? I love this novel. It's so relatable, it's so human, the characters are so well drawn even though they are parodies! I want to be Catherine's best friend but I also want to steal her husband. General Tilney needs to fall down a staircase (a recently renovated one).

[firawren]

I too desperately want those cute/sneakily sexy letters! I wish I had the capacity to write them myself, but I do not think I'm as witty as Henry.

I also love picturing Henry back at his house, fretting over making it perfect for Catherine, and totally impatient about when she will be able to come to live there and see all the sweet little things he set up for her. So adorable.

Ugh this book is just so freaking delightful! Everybody, read it!

Thank you for your daily write-ups, Bethany!

[itspileofgoodthings]

Northanger Abbey

I keep meaning to write @thelonelybrilliance a whole northanger abbey meta because it is one of my favorites and also because every time it comes up she seems so genuinely eager to hear my thoughts and that THRILLS ME-

(No really, in all of her tags Emma is like “Maria, convince me.” I LOVE IT.)

So after putting it off long enough, here I go! 

These are just my feelings.

Northanger Abbey is really special to me for a lot of reasons and one of them is that I believe, like @fictionadventurer​ pointed out with mansfield park (which made me want to reread it IMMEDIATELY), that it is a coming of age story more than a romance. Though I guess, like all Jane Austen’s, it’s both.

Catherine is really young- she starts and ends the novel at 17- and the book is about her growing up and what she learns along the way and none of what she learns is one thing. But the thing that I think she learns the most is how to tell false friends from true and how to get herself out of toxic relationships while clinging more firmly to those which will lift her up and help her be a better person.

I relate to that so much. My mom always says this thing that goes “people who say what they mean expect everyone else to mean what they say” and that is exactly Catherine’s (and quite often my) situation. She has other flaws- she’s young, she’s naive, she lets her imagination run away with her- but one of her defining characteristics is that she’s sincere, and sometimes to a fault. This is due as much to her age as it is to her personality (she’s really, really young and she’s lived a pretty sheltered life) but it’s also a big part of her personality. Someone tells her that they are her friend- she believes them! Someone tells her that they are in love with her- she believes that too! She’s completely guileless. She never suspects anybody of being a liar or manipulative because she isn’t one herself.

Part of growing up is learning that that’s not the case- that people don’t treat you exactly as you treat them, that some people are liars, that some are users, that, more broadly, everyone is not you and doesn’t see the world as you do. Believing endlessly in people who continually let you down doesn’t do anybody any good. Over the course of Northanger, Catherine learns that; she really, really learns that lesson down to the depths of her heart. It transforms her as a person. She moves from innocent, naive girl to a young woman no less soft-hearted but much more clear-eyed and firm.

Her lesson presents itself in her experience with two families specifically- the Tilneys and the Thorpes. When she comes to Bath they are the two families she meets and Catherine spends the first half of the novel being pulled between them

(like sometimes literally, remember when the Tilneys ask her to go for a walk and then Isabella and John and her brother practically force her into coming to Blaise castle with them? I love that moment SO FREAKING MUCH because a) I have LIVED that moment and b) it’s such a perfect literal, physical representation of what’s happening in her soul while being so common and awkward and ordinary and UGH I LOVE IT)

and the SECOND half of the novel learning how to choose between them. Catherine is a girl with a good heart and good instincts. As a reader, you know that she likes the Tilneys better than the Thorpes even if Catherine (oblivious, sweet summer child that she is) doesn’t. You can see it in how she comes to life when she’s around them, in how she rises to the challenge of their teasing and to the heights of their conversation (not that their conversations are absurdly high but markedly above that of the Thorpes), in how she practically sparkles when she’s with them (and I include Eleanor in this as well as Henry). But it’s hard because the Thorpes profess such genuine love for her (Isabella is always continually calling her my sweetest friend etc. and John never shuts up about how beautiful she is) and people always mean what they say, right? RIGHT?

But they don’t. And so Catherine has to learn to look at people’s actions instead of just their words and has to see where someone’s actions and words line up and where they contradict each other. When confronted with evidence and bolstered by her friendship with the Tilneys, Catherine does so pretty easily. She’s naive and good-hearted and young and oblivious but she isn’t stupid. She has a very clear mind and I appreciate that. There’s a moment in the book where she receives Isabella’s letter, written to explain away why she broke Catherine’s brother James’ heart, and Catherine has a beautiful moment of clarity and fury where she realizes, basically- “WOW, she was never my friend.” It’s gorgeous, I love it.

That’s a harder thing than people realize. If you have a soft heart by nature, believing that people are cruel takes courage and it takes practice. It’s as hard or harder than a cruel person learning to be kind. Catherine learns that lesson and puts it into practice- she severs the tie with Isabella herself by refusing to respond- and that’s so special to me.

NOW ON TO THE LOVE PART OF THE STORY

(under the cut because this is already much longer than intended) 

I am so genuinely delighted by this love story even though I understand why it’s not everyone’s favorite. (For one , it’s not everyone’s exact type of love and I don’t think it will ever be fully Emma’s and that’s okay. :D) but it’s definitely more beautiful than people think. You just have to be a little patient with it and accept it for what it is and more importantly for what it is not. It’s not P&P.)

The main reason people don’t passionately love this romance (I think) (one of them anyway) is because Jane Austen is very realistic about it. And she kind of teases her reader a little. There’s a really important part of the book where she talks about how the reality is that Henry would never have thought of Catherine romantically if it wasn’t perfectly clear that she viewed him that way. Jane goes on to say something like “I know this is dreadfully degrading to my heroine” but *insert shrug emoji*. This isn’t Darcy falling in love with Elizabeth LITERALLY against his will and character (etc.) which is, you know, a pretty intoxicating idea considering his wealth, status, and temperament. It’s not Wentworth angrily in love for seven years or Mr. Knightley quietly loving Emma in secret. It’s not even Edward Ferrars who falls for Eleanor pretty quickly. It’s the other way around. It’s the girl falling in love first and essentially initiating the romance herself.

As much as I love that Jane Austen teases her reader about this being degrading, it really, really, really isn’t. And actually, the closer you look the sweeter and (I genuinely hate this word but it fits) empowering??? the romance actually is. Catherine is, as we’ve said, completely open and completely guileless. She doesn’t know how to lie or manipulate. She is always wholly herself and she doesn’t hide that. She wouldn’t know how to hide her interest in Henry if she was aware that she *should*. And really, why should she?

Henry is charming, smart, and “if not handsome, very near it” (FAVE LINE) He’s also kind. OF COURSE she’s going to like him and, considering her temperament, of course it’s going to show. But just because her openness kicks off the romance, that doesn’t mean that Henry was ever anyone’s for the taking and that Catherine just happened to be there, willing it to happen. In fact, I think quite the opposite. He’s a kind person who likes to have fun but he’s sharp and he has high standards. He was never going to fall for just anyone. (Seriously, imagine Isabella trying to win him over with her wiles. He would shut her down SO FAST.) He likes Catherine immediately and enjoys her company. It’s just not love at first sight. He’s not swept off his feet (which is honestly perfectly fine.) The romance comes from the fact that the longer he’s around her, the more he gets to know her, the harder he falls. And before he knows it, he’s fully ready- heart completely in hand- to be with her forever. That’s a big deal and romantic and how it happens is romantic too. Because…

Catherine disarms him. Not with what she knows (Jane tells us pointedly that her education is lacking- which is a different thing than being stupid btw), but with who she is. Her sincerity, her goodness, her openness catch him off guard and I do think that he very genuinely falls in love with her. And yes there’s the whole thing with her imagination running away with her and her making up stories about his dad, and yes he chides her for it and yes she runs sobbing to her room in pain (sidenote: have I ever in my entire life related or sympathized with a character more?? i have not. that moment breaks me open because oh damn. I have lived that. LIVED THAT) but the SECOND SHE COMES OUT OF HER ROOM DISTRESSED WITH HER OWN FOOLISHNESS he does everything he possibly can to be gentle with her. There’s this line Jane uses that just SHOOTS me through the heart and it goes something like “There was no change in Henry’s manner towards her throughout the evening, except he was rather more gentle with her than normal.” I JUST. *bawls for thousands of years*

And yeah, look. I get it. That moment stings our (the female reader’s) pride. Why is it his job to correct her mistake?? Why can’t it be Lizzy bringing proud Darcy to his knees?? But it can’t be that all the time. It shouldn’t be. If a woman is going to be a fully realized character she’s going to have faults too, and she’s not the only one allowed to bring about profound change on someone’s character. And everybody’s flaws are not romantic. Catherine is young and she’s foolish, as most young people are. She’s also deeply innocent and the months she’s spent in Bath and the books she’s been reading have been a huge awakening for her. It’s completely understandable why she lets herself concoct a story. It’s an easy trap. Besides, Henry tells her very explicitly that though the stories were wrong, the instinct guiding her was true. Catherine understood the dynamic at the heart of Northanger Abbey and with her childish imagination concocted a story for it. Moving away from the imagination’s pitfalls leaves Catherine with only deep, strong, and true instincts- a combination Henry sees and loves. 

To sum up this rather rambling passage, Catherine’s fault is not a “romantic” one. It’s embarrassingly real, but Henry’s love for her in spite of and because of her flaws is not embarrassing at all. It’s completely, sincerely whole and beautiful. The whole book is full of these little darts of his tenderness and gentleness towards her

(HEYO ANYONE REMEMBER THAT MOMENT WHEN CATHERINE GETS A LETTER FROM JAMES ABOUT HIS BREAKUP WITH ISABELLA AND SHE STARTS CRYING AND HENRY IS SO UPSET HE CAN’T REALLY BEAR IT???? AND HE TELLS HER EARNESTLY THAT WHATEVER TROUBLE JAMES IS IN HAVING SUCH A SISTER MUST BE A GREAT COMFORT YOUU GUYYYYYYYS HE LOVES HER I’M CRYING)

but it’s also not even JUST THAT. It’s not just tenderness or protectiveness (which aren’t necessarily romantic and which could be felt in non-romantic relationships). It’s the tenderness united with respect and appreciation for her good qualities- her genuineness, her goodness, her TRUTH. And all of that is tied together by the fact that, again, she just disarms him. Henry’s a clever guy. He’s sharp. He can play the game, any game, you want him to. But Catherine doesn’t really play games and so he just falls. He really does. This isn’t a book about a guy “settling” for a girl because she chose him. This is a story about a guy who meets a girl who simply and directly chooses him and then going “OH WOW. I’m in love now”. 

K, so example time.

One of my FAVORITE moments in the entire book is right after the Blaise Castle incident. The Set up is that Catherine was supposed to go on a walk with the Tilneys but then the Thorpes bully her into going with them instead (yes she should have stood up to them but she’s growing you guys, she’s learning) and so it looks to the Tilneys like she blew them off. They see each other at the opera and it’s clear that Henry is hurt, and he treats her coldly. Catherine is so upset by this that she can barely stay in her seat. She runs after him and his sister to give her most heartfelt apologies and oh boy, are they heartfelt. She’s all hurt, she’s all sincerity, she’s so wounded that she’s wounded them (and him) and YOU GUYS. He just melts. He can’t even handle pretending to be mad at her because she’s just so. damn. cute and earnest.

Jane says something like “Is there a Henry in the world who could resist such an apology? Henry at least could not and he relented immediately etc.” (paraphrase) (but what a good line right)

Point is: she breaks down his walls and defenses incredibly quickly, and there is something very strong and powerful about how direct she is with her feelings. She never tricks him into loving her. Catherine doesn’t know how to play that game; all she can do is be herself. So what she does, unconsciously I think, is make him see her, really see her, and when he does, he falls. Pretty hard and fast. And to me that’s definitely romantic. Jane’s sense of fun and irony (she’s at her most teasing in here) can sometimes make it difficult to find the romance the way we think of it, and it does look different than the archetype of romance we’re perhaps used to, but it’s definitely there. And it’s beautiful! 

That’s all. 

[weloveperioddrama]

Jane Austen’s heroines appreciation post (requested by @felicemi-fa)

[iolanthee]

Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

[melonatures]

like think about the progression of austen’s heroes words to her heroines. we go from tilney asking catherine to consider the error of her ways, to knightley kind of doing the same with emma (though not as kindly), to darcy writing a letter to lizzie in which he considers and explains his own actions and which prompts lizzie to in turn consider hers in light of what she learns from the letter, to wentworth writing a letter to anne in which he examines his own behavior. i just love that all her heroines make grave mistakes, and i love that they’re embarrassed by their behavior but aren’t punished, and i love that the mistakes they make are a part of their character, of who they are as individuals and not some larger symbol of what is wrong with unruly women, and i love that the heroes have foibles too! like henry and how he likes making fun of people too much, and darcy and how he can’t take a joke, and wentworth and how he’s so up in his feelings he blinds himself to what he actually wants.

[lavenderfables]

[anaustenheroine]

my favorite thing about northanger abbey is that the irony is so often lost. people quoting isabella thorpe when that girl has no idea what the fuck she’s doing--she thinks she does, but she’s more clueless than catherine, whose entire world is informed by fiction, is.

and people sincerely quoting tilney when he’s joking!

[bennetlizzy]

“Catherine grows quite a good-looking girl, — she is almost pretty today!” -Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

[ad-astra-per-ardua]

formerly-fyna , merdeandmore

where did you goooooo, i can’t find you or message you anywhere! you are my fandom sunshine, i miss you

(this is broadlybrazen, btw, this is my sideblog)

[anaustenheroine]

sorrryyyyyyyyy i just need to disappear for a while cause every now and then i get this intense desire to not be looked at/seen and that also manifests online. also i am very just ugh over fandom drama and i keep compulsively making very aggressive passive aggressive/mean posts and i’m so embarrassed by them and i don’t want anyone to see them but i want them to exist. idk. but everything’s ok, i’ll be back in a few days or something.

[in-the-land-of-gods-and-monsters]

Favorite Period Drama Leading Men:Henry Tilney (9/9)

Now, I must give one smirk, and then we may be rational again.

[sculptedfromclay]

[anaustenheroine]

What happened to malariamonsters? Did Tumblr shut it down? I miss your posts on my dash! (I'm aka dearincrediblesweetness in case you were wondering who this was.)

oh no, no! i'm just taking a break.

[weloveperioddrama]

[weloveperioddrama]

❁ ”No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine.”

[austenchanted]

The master of the ceremonies introduced to her a very gentlemanlike young man as a partner; his name was Tilney. He seemed to be about four or five and twenty, was rather tall, had a pleasing countenance, a very intelligent and lively eye, and, if not quite handsome, was very near it. His address was good, and Catherine felt herself in high luck.