Why Is Northanger Abbey Important

Northanger Abbey Northanger Abbey deals with the obstacles of a young woman in a harsh British society. It was a constant competition among woman to marry well; their lives depended on it. Woman were seen as a pretty piece of property and weren’t valued. If they didn’t have a husband, they didn’t have a livelihood. Austen uses this novel as a platform to demonstrate how the classes and hierarchy of English society functioned, and how one must grow up rather quickly to be able to maneuver properly and successfully through this society. Girls had to quickly leave that youthful naivety behind and learn the tasteful classiness of womanhood or they would be tossed around and left very alone. Most people only care about wealth and getting ahead, it makes it very tricky to find true friends that are trustworthy.

She has spent most of her life with her head in a book, and often gets pulled into her own world where she makes up extravagant stories. Though she is intelligent, she isn’t very savvy when it comes to people. She is in fact extremely naïve and isn’t very learned in the art of reading others. She gets caught up in the moment and doesn’t think. She finds herself in embarrassing situations because she merely fails to remember that life isn’t a book. Though naïve she is genuine and kind hearted. She is full of life and cares deeply for others. She has a heart of gold and is full of integrity. She is very youthful and it

Northanger Abbey often shows. She tends to see people as more than they are. “These powers received due admiration from Catherine, to whom they were entirely new, and the respect which they naturally inspired might have been too great for familiarity, had not the easy gaiety of Miss Thorpe's manners [...] softened down every feeling of awe, and left nothing but tender affection.” (Austen, Ch.