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.