Use Of Foreshadowing And Irony In Northanger Abbey

In the opening of the novel Northanger Abbey, author Jane Austen used literary devices such as foreshadowing and irony to set the scene and characterize Catherine Morland, the main character and supposed heroine of the story.
Throughout the passage, Jane Austen foreshadows that Catherine Morland will become a heroine during her life. The first sentence says “No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine.” This sentence makes the reader automatically guess that, despite the assumptions of people around her, Catherine would grow up to accomplish something worthy of labeling her as heroic. As Austen goes on, the idea of heroism is brought up continually, saying that Catherine did not think

This is a form of irony, meaning that what the readers see does not actually correlate to what will happen later in the book. Even from the beginning, Austen says that “her situation in life, the character of her father and mother, her own person and disposition, were all equally against her.” Physically, Catherine does not seem attractive, with her “sallow skin, dark lank hair, and strong features”, and her personality as a young girl did not point her towards any kind of wonderful acts of courage. In fact, Austen says that “She was fond of all boy’s plays, and greatly preferred cricket not merely to dolls, but to the more heroic enjoyments of infancy, nursing a dormouse, feeding a canary-bird, or watering a rose-bush.” Additionally, Catherine did not enjoy learning or having to sit for her lessons; as a mischievous and free-spirited child, she would rather be drawing or playing outside. Despite all of this, “she had neither a bad heart nor a bad temper, was seldom stubborn, scarcely ever quarrelsome, and very kind to the little ones, with few interruptions of tyranny.” Catherine’s disposition is not heroic, therefore, it is ironic that the readers are being told to assume she will become a