In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen describes Catherine Moreland, an ordinary girl who becomes an unexpected heroine. Catherine Moreland led a simple life with her plain and pleasant family, and when looking at her childhood alone, she was certainly not destined for greatness, as most heroes are attributed to be. Austen details Catherine’s childhood and utilizes literary techniques to introduce and develop Catherine Moreland’s character. Throughout the passage, Austen uses indirect characterization and direct characterization combined with point of view to illustrate Catherine’s seemingly plain and simple personality.
Austen begins with a description of Catherine Moreland’s home life and family, and through these descriptions, Catherine’s character is indirectly characterized. Catherine’s parents are described as unpretentious people. Her father was merely a clergyman making a humble living, and her mother “a woman of common plain sense”. Neither pushed Catherine to be anything she didn’t want to be or to do anything she didn’t want to do. Austen wrote, “Mrs. Moreland, who did not insist on her daughters being accomplished in spite of incapacity of distaste, allowed her to leave off.” Catherine’s mother simply let her stop piano lessons because
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As a child, she lived a humble upbringing alongside her nine other siblings, and she participated in normal childhood acts. She was almost mischievous in her youth, but with Austen's positive descriptions, it is clear that she was still pleasant and warmhearted. Catherine Moreland's simple lifestyle and pleasant personality is revealed through Austen's utilization of direct and indirect characterization and point of view. Although Catherine Moreland's childhood was humble, plain, and no where near destined for greatness, Austen introduces a likable, relatable, and unexpected heroine in the opening passages of Northanger