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.