My Thoughts/Musings/Ramblings
Ch. 28 (Vol. 2 Ch. 13)
This is a super-abrupt shift--and, ironically, the closest Catherine gets to being the heroine of a Gothic novel. Turned out of the house with no protection and no chance to write home, and she would have been penniless if Eleanor hadn't thought to give her money.
Ch. 29 (Vol. 2 Ch. 14)
Catherine's mother is by far the most down-to-earth, relaxed, normal mother in Jane Austen. The rest are all either great-but-dead or seriously batty. I guess in this novel, Mrs. Allen fills the "seriously batty" role.
Ch. 30 (Vol. 2 Ch. 15)
Catherine's mother's worries at the beginning of this chapter remind me of Meg's experiences in Little Women--more than once, she is led into discontent and bad decisions by her wealthier friends.
And, by the end of the chapter, it is revealed that while Mrs. Allen may be batty, General Tilney is a straight up villain. I love Austen's description of General Tilney after his conversation with Thorpe: "Enraged at almost every body in the world but himself." Of course he is.
Ch. 31 (Vol. 2 Ch. 16)
Thankfully, Catherine's parents are as cool as General Tilney is awful, and they are immediately on board with Henry's proposal. Hooray! However, being parents, they have to pull the parent move of making sure it's ok with the other set of parents (in this case, General Tilney.)
Wow, glad that character we never saw got his title after all and married Eleanor! Not your best work, Jane. But--as she jokes--we all knew things would work out when we saw how close the end of the book was, so what are you going to do? So General Tilney consents after all--at least one of his kids married into money, and Catherine wasn't as poor as he thought--and everyone lives happily ever after just like we knew they would even though this started out as a parody.
My Takeaways
Weakly plotted ending or no, I had forgotten how much fun this book is. I like poor dopey Catherine; usually Austen's heroines are so clever and witty that I enjoyed the change of pace here.
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 28 (Vol. 2 Ch. 13)
The bit about the servant--when Catherine assumes that General Tilney will send a servant home with her since there isn't time to write to her parents, and poor Eleanor has to inform her that in fact, no servant will be provided--is actually a really big deal. Women didn't travel alone, both for real safety concerns and to protect their reputations. Catherine will have to stop and hire new horses along the way--it's not just a quick solo carriage ride. It's like putting a young teenager (while Catherine is considered marriageable, she's also clearly still a child in a lot of ways) by herself on a cross-country Greyhound bus trip where she will have to change busses periodically: could go fine, but a lot could go wrong. This is seriously mean, and definitely something that would freak most parents out.
Ch. 29 (Vol. 2 Ch. 14)
Catherine is right to be sad about losing her friendship with Eleanor, because, as Shapard explains, "As long as General Tilney disapproves of any contact between his daughter and Catherine, it would be inappropriate for them to arrange a meeting; their inability to see each other would be further hampered by the restrictions on ladies' traveling alone" (479).
Ch. 30 (Vol. 2 Ch. 15)
"rhodomontade" (p. 498)--empty boasting
Ch. 31 (Vol. 2 Ch. 16)
"marriage settlements" (p. 502)--money that Henry will inherit based on contracts signed at the time of his father's marriage (before he was even born.) His father can't take that money away.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Chapters 25-27 (Vol. 2 Ch. 10-12)
My Thoughts/Musings/Ramblings
Ch. 25 (Vol. 2 Ch. 10)
Oh, Catherine, you lovable goon. Catherine has learned her lesson--sort of. Castles don't all have dark and terrible secrets, people aren't angels or devils--well, at least, not in England. Well, not her part of England. D'oh. This is a baby step, then: Catherine learns that her beloved novels aren't real, but still thinks that might really be the way of things in the exotic far off places where they take place (like Italy.) This is characteristic of Austen heroines: they change over time, but not completely. Usually there's a process of becoming less extreme in some aspect of their personalities--Austen is big on moderation.
It's interesting to me that Henry just keeps on being nice to Catherine like nothing happened, rather than the period of awfulness I geared up for. Just as Catherine is learning not to judge real people by the standards of romance novels, I am learning not to judge Austen characters by the standards of all the rom-coms I've seen!
Ch. 26 (Vol. 2 Ch. 11)
In this chapter: Catherine is thoroughly freaked out by the General! Pretty much that's everything that happens--the General says something he doesn't mean, Catherine takes him seriously, and then she gets confused when he doesn't actually mean what he said (like "Oh, we don't need to set an exact time...but we'll definitely be there Wednesday at quarter to one on the dot.") or the General tries to pander to Catherine and she just has no idea how to respond (she loves the village, he apologizes for it; that makes her feel stupid so she doesn't praise the house enough and he gets mad; she actually expresses an opinion and says she likes the cottage and he instructs Henry to keep it, but she's so flustered by that that she refuses to give opinions on things even when she's asked.) General, you are frustrating.
Ch. 27 (Vol. 2 Ch. 12)
Oh, thank goodness Catherine has finally learned a little bit about human nature! If she had fallen for this letter I would have given her up forever.
My Takeaways
Ok: Isabella is sorted, and Catherine is learning--there's not much more to wrap up here! Just Catherine and Henry (cue ominous music...)
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 25 (Vol. 2 Ch. 10)
Toward the end of the chapter, we get Henry at probably his most biting. He and Eleanor are shaking their heads, trying to figure out what could have happened to induce Frederick to accept Isabella even though she was engaged; they say that before this he was full of declarations that no one was good enough for him, and then Henry takes aim at Isabella: "I have too good an opinion of Miss Thorpe's prudence, to suppose that she would part with one gentleman before the other was secured." This means that he's pretty sure Isabella wouldn't let go of James till she was sure of Frederick--which makes it all the more bizarre that Frederick would accept her, since she was still actually engaged when they got together. Finally, he wryly describes Isabella as quite a lovely sister-in-law for Eleanor--using terms that (as David Shapard points out in his notes in my edition) describe not Isabella, but Catherine!
Ch. 26 (Vol. 2 Ch. 11)
Parsonage--p. 430--the house where the town clergyman would live. In this case, that's Henry, who has the "living" (meaning the clergy position) in Woodston.
Ch. 27 (Vol. 2 Ch. 12)
"her tricks have not answered"--p. 444--her plans to get a rich husband have not paid off! (Hah!)
Ch. 25 (Vol. 2 Ch. 10)
Oh, Catherine, you lovable goon. Catherine has learned her lesson--sort of. Castles don't all have dark and terrible secrets, people aren't angels or devils--well, at least, not in England. Well, not her part of England. D'oh. This is a baby step, then: Catherine learns that her beloved novels aren't real, but still thinks that might really be the way of things in the exotic far off places where they take place (like Italy.) This is characteristic of Austen heroines: they change over time, but not completely. Usually there's a process of becoming less extreme in some aspect of their personalities--Austen is big on moderation.
It's interesting to me that Henry just keeps on being nice to Catherine like nothing happened, rather than the period of awfulness I geared up for. Just as Catherine is learning not to judge real people by the standards of romance novels, I am learning not to judge Austen characters by the standards of all the rom-coms I've seen!
Ch. 26 (Vol. 2 Ch. 11)
In this chapter: Catherine is thoroughly freaked out by the General! Pretty much that's everything that happens--the General says something he doesn't mean, Catherine takes him seriously, and then she gets confused when he doesn't actually mean what he said (like "Oh, we don't need to set an exact time...but we'll definitely be there Wednesday at quarter to one on the dot.") or the General tries to pander to Catherine and she just has no idea how to respond (she loves the village, he apologizes for it; that makes her feel stupid so she doesn't praise the house enough and he gets mad; she actually expresses an opinion and says she likes the cottage and he instructs Henry to keep it, but she's so flustered by that that she refuses to give opinions on things even when she's asked.) General, you are frustrating.
Ch. 27 (Vol. 2 Ch. 12)
Oh, thank goodness Catherine has finally learned a little bit about human nature! If she had fallen for this letter I would have given her up forever.
My Takeaways
Ok: Isabella is sorted, and Catherine is learning--there's not much more to wrap up here! Just Catherine and Henry (cue ominous music...)
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 25 (Vol. 2 Ch. 10)
Toward the end of the chapter, we get Henry at probably his most biting. He and Eleanor are shaking their heads, trying to figure out what could have happened to induce Frederick to accept Isabella even though she was engaged; they say that before this he was full of declarations that no one was good enough for him, and then Henry takes aim at Isabella: "I have too good an opinion of Miss Thorpe's prudence, to suppose that she would part with one gentleman before the other was secured." This means that he's pretty sure Isabella wouldn't let go of James till she was sure of Frederick--which makes it all the more bizarre that Frederick would accept her, since she was still actually engaged when they got together. Finally, he wryly describes Isabella as quite a lovely sister-in-law for Eleanor--using terms that (as David Shapard points out in his notes in my edition) describe not Isabella, but Catherine!
Ch. 26 (Vol. 2 Ch. 11)
Parsonage--p. 430--the house where the town clergyman would live. In this case, that's Henry, who has the "living" (meaning the clergy position) in Woodston.
Ch. 27 (Vol. 2 Ch. 12)
"her tricks have not answered"--p. 444--her plans to get a rich husband have not paid off! (Hah!)
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Ch. 22-24 (Vol. 2 Ch. 7-9)
My Thoughts/Musings/Ramblings
Ch. 22 (Vol. 2 Ch. 7)
Catherine has now been SO wrong twice--about the chest and the cabinet--but does that stop her from cooking up a whole big story about General Tilney mistreating and secretly hating his late wife? It does not.
Ch. 23 (Vol. 2 Ch. 8)
So, now Catherine has gone beyond the idea that perhaps General Tilney killed his wife, and right on through to the other side: he knocked his wife out, dragged her into one of the cells (small rooms where nuns would have lived when Northanger was a functioning abbey) and is secretly keeping her alive for some nefarious purpose. Yeesh.
Ch. 24 (Vol. 2 Ch. 9)
Catherine, why on Earth would you admit to Henry any part of what you suspected? What is wrong with you?
My Takeaways
Oh, here we are--the part of the romantic comedy that is so painful, one of my good friends refuses to watch them (she actually fast-forwards through until the terrible awkwardness passes or the misunderstanding is resolved.) The less said about this, the better.
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 22 (Vol. 2 Ch. 7)
In case you--like Catherine--aren't sure what General Tilney meant when he said he'd probably be picking out new china soon (but not for himself): he means that she will be marrying his son soon and then he will give her the traditional wedding gift of china. Awkward.
Ch. 23 (Vol. 2 Ch. 8)
One of my favorite bits of this chapter hinges (like most of this book) on Catherine's utter naivete and inexperience. When General Tilney proudly shows off the servants' work areas (this is what is meant by "offices"on p. 376) Catherine can't believe how many servants there are. In her beloved Gothic novels, "all the dirty work of the house was to be done by two pair of female hands at the utmost" (380). Mrs. Allen had apparently wondered aloud how on earth this could be possible (because, in fact, running a large household like this one took many servants) and it is just now dawning on Catherine that for once, Mrs. Allen had a point. (You would hope this would nudge her out of her unflagging belief in all the other tropes of Gothic novels...but no.)
Ch. 24 (Vol. 2 Ch. 9)
Just to clarify: while it was, I think, a little more common to "explore" the house you were staying in in Austen's time than in ours (especially if you were staying in a mansion!) Catherine's actions are still sneaky and strange.
Ch. 22 (Vol. 2 Ch. 7)
Catherine has now been SO wrong twice--about the chest and the cabinet--but does that stop her from cooking up a whole big story about General Tilney mistreating and secretly hating his late wife? It does not.
Ch. 23 (Vol. 2 Ch. 8)
So, now Catherine has gone beyond the idea that perhaps General Tilney killed his wife, and right on through to the other side: he knocked his wife out, dragged her into one of the cells (small rooms where nuns would have lived when Northanger was a functioning abbey) and is secretly keeping her alive for some nefarious purpose. Yeesh.
Ch. 24 (Vol. 2 Ch. 9)
Catherine, why on Earth would you admit to Henry any part of what you suspected? What is wrong with you?
My Takeaways
Oh, here we are--the part of the romantic comedy that is so painful, one of my good friends refuses to watch them (she actually fast-forwards through until the terrible awkwardness passes or the misunderstanding is resolved.) The less said about this, the better.
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 22 (Vol. 2 Ch. 7)
In case you--like Catherine--aren't sure what General Tilney meant when he said he'd probably be picking out new china soon (but not for himself): he means that she will be marrying his son soon and then he will give her the traditional wedding gift of china. Awkward.
Ch. 23 (Vol. 2 Ch. 8)
One of my favorite bits of this chapter hinges (like most of this book) on Catherine's utter naivete and inexperience. When General Tilney proudly shows off the servants' work areas (this is what is meant by "offices"on p. 376) Catherine can't believe how many servants there are. In her beloved Gothic novels, "all the dirty work of the house was to be done by two pair of female hands at the utmost" (380). Mrs. Allen had apparently wondered aloud how on earth this could be possible (because, in fact, running a large household like this one took many servants) and it is just now dawning on Catherine that for once, Mrs. Allen had a point. (You would hope this would nudge her out of her unflagging belief in all the other tropes of Gothic novels...but no.)
Ch. 24 (Vol. 2 Ch. 9)
Just to clarify: while it was, I think, a little more common to "explore" the house you were staying in in Austen's time than in ours (especially if you were staying in a mansion!) Catherine's actions are still sneaky and strange.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Ch. 19-21 (Vol. 2 Ch. 4-6)
My Thoughts/Ramblings/Musings
Ch. 19 (Vol. 2 Ch. 4)
I'm not sure what to make of Henry here. Up until this point, he has certainly teased Catherine but usually on matters of little consequence. In this chapter, he essentially acknowledges that his brother is hard-core flirting with a woman who is engaged (read: completely unavailable) but laughs off Catherine's concern about the situation. This is the first time his eccentricity and sense of humor feel like they are being used for evil, and I don't like it.
Ch. 20 (Vol. 2 Ch. 5)
The second half of this chapter seems to be a quickie guide to Gothic novels for readers unfamiliar with their tropes. Since the rest of this book is to Gothic Novels what Community's Halloween episodes are to zombie movies and scary stories (warning: language in those recaps!) this walkthrough of every Gothic novel ever is pretty necessary.
Ch. 21 (Vol. 2 Ch. 6)
And now the fun begins. Catherine is all, "Hey, no problem, this house isn't scary--it's barely even interesting! Look at the nice modern wallpaper, and the big bright windows, and the OLD CHEST THAT DEFINITELY CONTAINS TREASURE AND/OR TERRIBLE SECRETS OMG OMG OMG. Oh...wait no...that's just a bedspread. Oops." But of course one little false lead can't calm down a girl who has read this many wacky novels, so she does the whole thing again later that night. Get ready for a lot more of this business, pals.
My Takeaways
This is where we really see the game of the novel shift. The first section was all about Austen parodying romance novels (more or less her own genre!) but here we shift into playing with conventions of the truly Gothic novel. Think "suspense/horror movies" and you'll be just about on track--these books are full of "no, don't open that!" and "no, don't go in there!" moments.
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 19 (Vol. 2 Ch. 4)
The rules of courtship were pretty clear: if you were engaged to (or even seriously courting) one person, there was no room in your life for flirtation with someone else. Catherine is right to be bewildered by Isabella's behavior toward Captain Tilney; "engaged" basically meant married, and there was no such thing as good-natured, friendly flirting. You were courting/engaged/married/related, or you kept your distance when it came to members of the opposite sex.
Ch. 20 (Vol. 2 Ch. 5)
Carriage talk: The chaise in which Catherine starts the journey is a closed carriage that fits three people. It could be pulled by two horses but here it's pulled by four; this would make the ride faster and/or less difficult for the horses (but obviously it's more expensive to have four horses.) The curricle in which she joins Henry for the second leg is an open carriage that fits two people. (This is why she's a little worried, because Mr. Allen said that young, unmarried men and women shouldn't ride alone together in open carriages, but she defers to Henry's father and also to her own wishes.)
Ch. 21 (Vo. 2 Ch. 6)
faggot (p. 342)--We really hit the jackpot of "words that don't mean the same thing anymore" in this book. As you have no doubt heard from classmates and/or South Park, yes, this word used to mean a bundle of sticks. No, it doesn't mean that anymore, so don't use it.
Japan (p. 344)--This doesn't mean it's necessarily from Japan; it describes a type of dark varnish with a gold-colored pattern.
Ch. 19 (Vol. 2 Ch. 4)
I'm not sure what to make of Henry here. Up until this point, he has certainly teased Catherine but usually on matters of little consequence. In this chapter, he essentially acknowledges that his brother is hard-core flirting with a woman who is engaged (read: completely unavailable) but laughs off Catherine's concern about the situation. This is the first time his eccentricity and sense of humor feel like they are being used for evil, and I don't like it.
Ch. 20 (Vol. 2 Ch. 5)
The second half of this chapter seems to be a quickie guide to Gothic novels for readers unfamiliar with their tropes. Since the rest of this book is to Gothic Novels what Community's Halloween episodes are to zombie movies and scary stories (warning: language in those recaps!) this walkthrough of every Gothic novel ever is pretty necessary.
Ch. 21 (Vol. 2 Ch. 6)
And now the fun begins. Catherine is all, "Hey, no problem, this house isn't scary--it's barely even interesting! Look at the nice modern wallpaper, and the big bright windows, and the OLD CHEST THAT DEFINITELY CONTAINS TREASURE AND/OR TERRIBLE SECRETS OMG OMG OMG. Oh...wait no...that's just a bedspread. Oops." But of course one little false lead can't calm down a girl who has read this many wacky novels, so she does the whole thing again later that night. Get ready for a lot more of this business, pals.
My Takeaways
This is where we really see the game of the novel shift. The first section was all about Austen parodying romance novels (more or less her own genre!) but here we shift into playing with conventions of the truly Gothic novel. Think "suspense/horror movies" and you'll be just about on track--these books are full of "no, don't open that!" and "no, don't go in there!" moments.
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 19 (Vol. 2 Ch. 4)
The rules of courtship were pretty clear: if you were engaged to (or even seriously courting) one person, there was no room in your life for flirtation with someone else. Catherine is right to be bewildered by Isabella's behavior toward Captain Tilney; "engaged" basically meant married, and there was no such thing as good-natured, friendly flirting. You were courting/engaged/married/related, or you kept your distance when it came to members of the opposite sex.
Ch. 20 (Vol. 2 Ch. 5)
Carriage talk: The chaise in which Catherine starts the journey is a closed carriage that fits three people. It could be pulled by two horses but here it's pulled by four; this would make the ride faster and/or less difficult for the horses (but obviously it's more expensive to have four horses.) The curricle in which she joins Henry for the second leg is an open carriage that fits two people. (This is why she's a little worried, because Mr. Allen said that young, unmarried men and women shouldn't ride alone together in open carriages, but she defers to Henry's father and also to her own wishes.)
Ch. 21 (Vo. 2 Ch. 6)
faggot (p. 342)--We really hit the jackpot of "words that don't mean the same thing anymore" in this book. As you have no doubt heard from classmates and/or South Park, yes, this word used to mean a bundle of sticks. No, it doesn't mean that anymore, so don't use it.
Japan (p. 344)--This doesn't mean it's necessarily from Japan; it describes a type of dark varnish with a gold-colored pattern.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Ch. 16-18 (or Vol. 2 Ch. 1-3)
My Thoughts/Musings/Ramblings
Ch. 16/Vol. 2 Ch. 1
Isabella is a real piece of work. First, she takes Catherine's complaints about her visit to the Tilneys' to a whole other level (Catherine keeps having to tell her, "Ok, no, I didn't say it was that bad,") and then she goes back on her decision not to dance at all since she couldn't dance with her absent fiance. And the way she and her mother kept talking about Mr. Morland's decisions about how James would support himself felt very ungrateful--like, they kept talking about how it's all Isabella would need, because she's so simple and doesn't need much. Ouch!
Ch. 17/Vol. 2 Ch. 2
This chapter sets up the real action of Volume 2: Catherine's visit to Northanger Abbey, home of the Tilneys. Catherine is pretty excited about getting to hang out with Henry all the time, but mostly she's excited to visit a real abbey. (Basically, imagine one of your friends invited you back to their old, probably haunted English castle: you'd totally expect Hogwarts, right?)
Also, this visit is not as weird as it feels to me. Because travel was a real pain, people visited friends and family for longer periods of time, and as long as there's a sister in the mix (officially, Catherine is her guest, not Henry's) this is all kosher. The Allens have given their stamp of approval, and the Morlands have no idea how clueless Mrs. Allen is, so they're on board too. Man, wasn't life easier before parents had cellphones and Google?
Ch. 18/Vol. 2 Ch. 3
Oh, yikes. I guess we should not be surprised, but John Thorpe seems to think he basically proposed to Catherine (and that she basically said yes, or at least encouraged him to ask for real.) Oops.
Also: Catherine, dear, sweet Catherine, walks away from Flirtsville (population: 2) still believing that Isabella must not realize that Captain Tilney is falling for her. Because after all, Isabella is engaged to James, and she would never change her mind. No one would ever do that, right?
'What one means one day, you know, one may not mean the next. Circumstances change, opinions alter."
--Isabella Thorpe (p. 292)
"People seldom know what they want...they are so amazingly changeable and inconsistent."
--Isabella Thorpe (p. 292)
"Tilney says, there is nothing people are so often deceived in, as the state of their own affections, and I believe he is very right."
--Isabella Thorpe (p. 292)
...oh. Yikes.
My Takeaways:
Catherine is growing, if possible, even more innocent and naive by the day. Girl: you have got to catch a clue. Have you ever met people? None of this is normal.
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 16/Vol. 2 Ch. 1
The money promised to James and Isabella, in the form of a living and later an inheritance that would provide income of its own, is enough to get by in a small way. The idea of "middle class" didn't exist in the same way then that it does now; rather, there were different gradations of wealthy ("upper class") families, and then there was everyone else. Even characters who seem to be on the poor side (the Morlands, with their many children and modest means, or Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice) are considered upper class due to factors including family name/heritage, land owning, and wealth. They would never socialize, for example, with the families of their servants (even well-to-do merchants faced obstacles in becoming part of society.) So James and Isabella would still be a part of the upper-class world, which would mean that they would have to stretch their smallish income to keep up a certain kind of lifestyle.
Ch. 17/Vol. 2 Ch. 2
se'ennight (p. 280)--a week from. So "Saturday se'ennight" would be a week from Saturday. (This one seems pretty intuitive--but did you realize "fortnight" works the same way? That word means two weeks--or fourteen nights, which contracts to fortnight.)
Ch. 18/Vol. 2 Ch. 3
Ok, so I know everyone in these novels always seems so formal (since manners have relaxed quite a bit since Austen's time) but even to my modern ear, Isabella's "Tilney says" toward the end of the first page of this chapter sounds bizarrely familiar. That simply was not done!
Ch. 16/Vol. 2 Ch. 1
Isabella is a real piece of work. First, she takes Catherine's complaints about her visit to the Tilneys' to a whole other level (Catherine keeps having to tell her, "Ok, no, I didn't say it was that bad,") and then she goes back on her decision not to dance at all since she couldn't dance with her absent fiance. And the way she and her mother kept talking about Mr. Morland's decisions about how James would support himself felt very ungrateful--like, they kept talking about how it's all Isabella would need, because she's so simple and doesn't need much. Ouch!
Ch. 17/Vol. 2 Ch. 2
This chapter sets up the real action of Volume 2: Catherine's visit to Northanger Abbey, home of the Tilneys. Catherine is pretty excited about getting to hang out with Henry all the time, but mostly she's excited to visit a real abbey. (Basically, imagine one of your friends invited you back to their old, probably haunted English castle: you'd totally expect Hogwarts, right?)
Also, this visit is not as weird as it feels to me. Because travel was a real pain, people visited friends and family for longer periods of time, and as long as there's a sister in the mix (officially, Catherine is her guest, not Henry's) this is all kosher. The Allens have given their stamp of approval, and the Morlands have no idea how clueless Mrs. Allen is, so they're on board too. Man, wasn't life easier before parents had cellphones and Google?
Ch. 18/Vol. 2 Ch. 3
Oh, yikes. I guess we should not be surprised, but John Thorpe seems to think he basically proposed to Catherine (and that she basically said yes, or at least encouraged him to ask for real.) Oops.
Also: Catherine, dear, sweet Catherine, walks away from Flirtsville (population: 2) still believing that Isabella must not realize that Captain Tilney is falling for her. Because after all, Isabella is engaged to James, and she would never change her mind. No one would ever do that, right?
'What one means one day, you know, one may not mean the next. Circumstances change, opinions alter."
--Isabella Thorpe (p. 292)
"People seldom know what they want...they are so amazingly changeable and inconsistent."
--Isabella Thorpe (p. 292)
"Tilney says, there is nothing people are so often deceived in, as the state of their own affections, and I believe he is very right."
--Isabella Thorpe (p. 292)
...oh. Yikes.
My Takeaways:
Catherine is growing, if possible, even more innocent and naive by the day. Girl: you have got to catch a clue. Have you ever met people? None of this is normal.
Vocab/Clarifications
Ch. 16/Vol. 2 Ch. 1
The money promised to James and Isabella, in the form of a living and later an inheritance that would provide income of its own, is enough to get by in a small way. The idea of "middle class" didn't exist in the same way then that it does now; rather, there were different gradations of wealthy ("upper class") families, and then there was everyone else. Even characters who seem to be on the poor side (the Morlands, with their many children and modest means, or Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice) are considered upper class due to factors including family name/heritage, land owning, and wealth. They would never socialize, for example, with the families of their servants (even well-to-do merchants faced obstacles in becoming part of society.) So James and Isabella would still be a part of the upper-class world, which would mean that they would have to stretch their smallish income to keep up a certain kind of lifestyle.
Ch. 17/Vol. 2 Ch. 2
se'ennight (p. 280)--a week from. So "Saturday se'ennight" would be a week from Saturday. (This one seems pretty intuitive--but did you realize "fortnight" works the same way? That word means two weeks--or fourteen nights, which contracts to fortnight.)
Ch. 18/Vol. 2 Ch. 3
Ok, so I know everyone in these novels always seems so formal (since manners have relaxed quite a bit since Austen's time) but even to my modern ear, Isabella's "Tilney says" toward the end of the first page of this chapter sounds bizarrely familiar. That simply was not done!
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Ch. 12-15
My Thoughts/Noticings/Ramblings:
Ch. 12
One of the nice things about Catherine being more realistic than heroic is that she just wants to make things right with the Tilneys, so she doesn't waste any time being angry about the perceived slights from them--she just tells her side and hears their side and has done with it! (Of course, it's not all smooth sailing ahead, but at least this conflict wraps up quickly.)
Ch. 13
...this has all happened in six days. (This makes Isabella's accusation that Catherine is choosing Miss Tilney over "her best and oldest friends" pretty bizarre (202).)
Thank goodness for Mr. Allen. He's finally around long enough to say something sensible--that it's not a great idea for unmarried and unrelated men and women to drive all around together. His wife is all, "Oh, yeah, definitely, bad idea," which shocks Catherine, because Mrs. Allen encouraged her to go out for a drive with Mr. Thorpe just days earlier. But now Catherine's moral suspicions are confirmed, and she has a good reason to turn down any future applications from Mr. Thorpe.
Ch. 14
We finally get to spend some time with the Tilneys! My overall impressions are that Henry is as weird as he seemed in the beginning, but in a generally pretty likable way, and that Miss Tilney seems more like an Austen heroine than Catherine does! She is witty, reasonable, kind, and know how to deal with her oddball brother.
Ch. 15
Oh Catherine, you sweet, innocent little bird. "What do you think of this whole marriage thing? How about that old saying "one wedding begets another?" ...So, I'll see you at the wedding, huh?" It's lucky for her she had to hurry away, or she might have found herself engaged to Mr. Thorpe!
My Takeaways:
Something is rotten in the house of Thorpe. They are being way too weird about Catherine and James. The Tilneys, on the other hand, seem like good people (well, the General is pretty weird. But we'll see more of him later.)
Vocab/Clarifications:
Ch. 12
When Catherine visits Miss Tilney, is told she is not at home, and then sees her walking out a minute later, that hurts. It's like if you called up a friend to say "Oh, hey, I can see you across the park" and you watched them take out their phone, see that you're calling, hit ignore, and then laugh with their other friends. Poor Catherine is right to freak out.
Ch. 13
elasticity (p. 210) --in this case, something like "energy" or "bounciness"; I still find it a strange compliment from General Tilney, but I guess it's been established that Catherine is a pretty ordinary kind of person so someone looking to compliment her might have to get a little creative or risk sounding insincere.
Ch. 14
Henry explains his objections to the overuse of the word "nice"--it used to mean tidy or refined, which would make it an odd choice of words with which to praise a novel. The other word he mocks in this chapter is "amazingly"--the kind of enthusiastic hyperbole mostly associated with Isabella. Catherine has her own version of the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, but for usage. (Of course, Austen is known for using dialogue, and particularly diction, to show the reader a great deal of information about her characters, so take that as you will...)
panegyric (p. 228)--extensive praise for something or someone
Ch. 15
A few notes on marriage: while adults didn't need parental consent to marry, it was highly unusual to marry without it (and certainly not against it.) Part of the arrangements for marriage concerned finances: what would the bride get from her family, and how would the groom be able to support his family? Usually eldest sons of wealthy families had personal fortunes that could be used to support a family, while younger sons (and men from less wealthy families) worked as clergymen, military officers, or a few other specific jobs that were deemed acceptable for the upper classes. Here, the arrangements for James and Isabella are left vague, with only the assurance that James's father would do what he could to "forward [James's] happiness."
Ch. 12
One of the nice things about Catherine being more realistic than heroic is that she just wants to make things right with the Tilneys, so she doesn't waste any time being angry about the perceived slights from them--she just tells her side and hears their side and has done with it! (Of course, it's not all smooth sailing ahead, but at least this conflict wraps up quickly.)
Ch. 13
...this has all happened in six days. (This makes Isabella's accusation that Catherine is choosing Miss Tilney over "her best and oldest friends" pretty bizarre (202).)
Thank goodness for Mr. Allen. He's finally around long enough to say something sensible--that it's not a great idea for unmarried and unrelated men and women to drive all around together. His wife is all, "Oh, yeah, definitely, bad idea," which shocks Catherine, because Mrs. Allen encouraged her to go out for a drive with Mr. Thorpe just days earlier. But now Catherine's moral suspicions are confirmed, and she has a good reason to turn down any future applications from Mr. Thorpe.
Ch. 14
We finally get to spend some time with the Tilneys! My overall impressions are that Henry is as weird as he seemed in the beginning, but in a generally pretty likable way, and that Miss Tilney seems more like an Austen heroine than Catherine does! She is witty, reasonable, kind, and know how to deal with her oddball brother.
Ch. 15
Oh Catherine, you sweet, innocent little bird. "What do you think of this whole marriage thing? How about that old saying "one wedding begets another?" ...So, I'll see you at the wedding, huh?" It's lucky for her she had to hurry away, or she might have found herself engaged to Mr. Thorpe!
My Takeaways:
Something is rotten in the house of Thorpe. They are being way too weird about Catherine and James. The Tilneys, on the other hand, seem like good people (well, the General is pretty weird. But we'll see more of him later.)
Vocab/Clarifications:
Ch. 12
When Catherine visits Miss Tilney, is told she is not at home, and then sees her walking out a minute later, that hurts. It's like if you called up a friend to say "Oh, hey, I can see you across the park" and you watched them take out their phone, see that you're calling, hit ignore, and then laugh with their other friends. Poor Catherine is right to freak out.
Ch. 13
elasticity (p. 210) --in this case, something like "energy" or "bounciness"; I still find it a strange compliment from General Tilney, but I guess it's been established that Catherine is a pretty ordinary kind of person so someone looking to compliment her might have to get a little creative or risk sounding insincere.
Ch. 14
Henry explains his objections to the overuse of the word "nice"--it used to mean tidy or refined, which would make it an odd choice of words with which to praise a novel. The other word he mocks in this chapter is "amazingly"--the kind of enthusiastic hyperbole mostly associated with Isabella. Catherine has her own version of the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, but for usage. (Of course, Austen is known for using dialogue, and particularly diction, to show the reader a great deal of information about her characters, so take that as you will...)
panegyric (p. 228)--extensive praise for something or someone
Ch. 15
A few notes on marriage: while adults didn't need parental consent to marry, it was highly unusual to marry without it (and certainly not against it.) Part of the arrangements for marriage concerned finances: what would the bride get from her family, and how would the groom be able to support his family? Usually eldest sons of wealthy families had personal fortunes that could be used to support a family, while younger sons (and men from less wealthy families) worked as clergymen, military officers, or a few other specific jobs that were deemed acceptable for the upper classes. Here, the arrangements for James and Isabella are left vague, with only the assurance that James's father would do what he could to "forward [James's] happiness."
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Ch. 9-11
My Thoughts/Noticings/Ramblings:
Ch. 9
Mrs. Allen is the world's worst chaperone. Not only does she have a bizarre habit of announcing every little thing to the room ("Oh, look, a speck of dust on my dress!") but she is totally unable to pick up on Catherine's silent plea for help when Mr. Thorpe comes along to take Catherine out for a ride. Really, she should be all over that--it's not a great idea to begin with and Thorpe is clearly a jerk. CHAPERONE BETTER, MRS. ALLEN.
Mr. Thorpe somehow finds a way to be even less charming than before: "Old Allen is as rich as a Jew--is not he?" (132). Now, I ain't sayin' he's a golddigger...but he is anti-Semitic and terrible at holding a conversation in which other people are actually permitted to speak!
Ch. 10
Can I just point out that Mr. Tilney's joke about everyone saying that Bath is great for six weeks and then it's boring is almost precisely what Isabella and James were so thrilled to find themselves agreeing upon earlier in the chapter? It's like if your best friend came running over to you going, "OMG, I've been talking to the guy I like, and he says he hates when people cut him off in traffic! I hate that too! We're meant to be!"
Ch. 11
AGH I can't with this chapter. It's viscerally uncomfortable for me to read it. Mr. Thorpe is the WORST. He tells Catherine that he saw the Tilneys headed off in their carriage and then--when they drive past them on the street--he refuses to stop and let Catherine out. This chapter makes me want to set this book on fire (NOT that I condone burning books! It's just an impulse I have!)
My Takeaways:
Turns out Isabella is not a great friend, at least not when someone more interesting is around. And her brother is my least-favorite fictional person ever. And Mrs. Allen is pretty useless, so thank goodness for the Tilneys! Although it's going to take some explaining on Catherine's part to account for not being home when they came for her. Grrrr.
Vocab/Clarifications:
Ch. 9
It is noted that Mrs. Tilney (Henry Tilney's mother) was given twenty thousand pounds when she was married. This can best be translated into "a whole BUNCH of money." The relative prices of things have changed so much that it's hard to really compare amounts between then and now, but she's on par with the wealthy Bingley sister from Pride and Prejudice so we have a sense that she comes from a great deal of money (and so was unlikely to marry anyone who didn't.)
Ch. 10
Ok, if you haven't seen a film based on an Austen novel (they've all got dancing!) here's an example of what these country dances look like. Starts about halfway in.
Ch. 11
commerce (p. 184)--a card game, which the group plays instead of going out to a public entertainment.
Ch. 9
Mrs. Allen is the world's worst chaperone. Not only does she have a bizarre habit of announcing every little thing to the room ("Oh, look, a speck of dust on my dress!") but she is totally unable to pick up on Catherine's silent plea for help when Mr. Thorpe comes along to take Catherine out for a ride. Really, she should be all over that--it's not a great idea to begin with and Thorpe is clearly a jerk. CHAPERONE BETTER, MRS. ALLEN.
Mr. Thorpe somehow finds a way to be even less charming than before: "Old Allen is as rich as a Jew--is not he?" (132). Now, I ain't sayin' he's a golddigger...but he is anti-Semitic and terrible at holding a conversation in which other people are actually permitted to speak!
Ch. 10
Can I just point out that Mr. Tilney's joke about everyone saying that Bath is great for six weeks and then it's boring is almost precisely what Isabella and James were so thrilled to find themselves agreeing upon earlier in the chapter? It's like if your best friend came running over to you going, "OMG, I've been talking to the guy I like, and he says he hates when people cut him off in traffic! I hate that too! We're meant to be!"
Ch. 11
AGH I can't with this chapter. It's viscerally uncomfortable for me to read it. Mr. Thorpe is the WORST. He tells Catherine that he saw the Tilneys headed off in their carriage and then--when they drive past them on the street--he refuses to stop and let Catherine out. This chapter makes me want to set this book on fire (NOT that I condone burning books! It's just an impulse I have!)
My Takeaways:
Turns out Isabella is not a great friend, at least not when someone more interesting is around. And her brother is my least-favorite fictional person ever. And Mrs. Allen is pretty useless, so thank goodness for the Tilneys! Although it's going to take some explaining on Catherine's part to account for not being home when they came for her. Grrrr.
Vocab/Clarifications:
Ch. 9
It is noted that Mrs. Tilney (Henry Tilney's mother) was given twenty thousand pounds when she was married. This can best be translated into "a whole BUNCH of money." The relative prices of things have changed so much that it's hard to really compare amounts between then and now, but she's on par with the wealthy Bingley sister from Pride and Prejudice so we have a sense that she comes from a great deal of money (and so was unlikely to marry anyone who didn't.)
Ch. 10
Ok, if you haven't seen a film based on an Austen novel (they've all got dancing!) here's an example of what these country dances look like. Starts about halfway in.
Ch. 11
commerce (p. 184)--a card game, which the group plays instead of going out to a public entertainment.
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