This film is an
excellent adaptation (though taking certain liberties) of Austen’s early novel,
which was written in 1798 along with the first versions of Pride and Prejudice and Sense
and Sensibility (then entitled First
Impressions and Elinor and Marianne). However,
she revised the work in 1815 and changed it a bit, much as she did the other
two works (which were more heavily revised).
That said, it represents an important transition from the world of wit
and satire to the world of Romance and Gothic excess, which Austen parodies in
Catherine Morland’s reading habits.
However, like Sense and Sensibility, Austen gives us satire from
a woman’s point of view, and offers us unique insight into the “little” world
of domestic concerns that few men could be bothered to take notice of.
Answer TWO of
the following…
1. Though Austen doesn’t take us to the
streets of London or the depths of Otranto, we do see the very real world of
Bath, a notorious social center of the time.
How does Austen’s ‘tour’ of Bath offer a satire of the people, manners,
and aims of high society as rich as anything in The Way of the World? Be specific and cite an actual scene (or
dialogue) from the film.
2. In the opening chapter of Northanger Abbey, Austen’s narrator
admits that “[Catherine] never could learn or understand any thing before she
was taught; and sometimes not even then, for she was often unattentive, and
occasionally stupid.” The film, too,
shows Catherine as a somewhat unremarkable and not at all ‘wise’ at first. Why do you think Austen creates such a
untypical heroine? How does this play
into some of the themes of the book/film, as well as her taste in novels?
3. Why does General Tilney throw Catherine
so unceremoniously out of his home? What
is her “crime”? Why might his actions
have seemed more ‘Gothic’ at the time than they do today? What were the repercussions for Catherine,
being sent home without a coach or a servant…and what fate might have awaited
her once she got home?
4. How does the movie (like the book
itself) seem to be a satire on novels in general? What kind of novels does Catherine and her
friends read, and why might reading, when done without sense/education, lead to
trouble? Additionally, how might this
relate to our own times—to women (and men, perhaps) who read indiscriminately
and view the world accordingly?
