Northanger Abbey
Jane Austen
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
An unlikely heroine
Why does Austen insist that Catherine Morland was never meant to be a heroine?
Keep the conversation going
- How does she play with the novels of her time?
- Did you like Catherine?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
Why does Austen insist that Catherine Morland was never meant to be a heroine?
Keep the conversation going
- How does she play with the novels of her time?
- Did you like Catherine?
What does Catherine learn about people in Bath?
Keep the conversation going
- How do the Thorpes take advantage of her?
- What did you make of Isabella's sudden switch to Captain Tilney?
Why does John Thorpe lie to the Tilneys and to Catherine?
Keep the conversation going
- What does he want from her?
- How does his boasting shape what happens next?
What makes Henry Tilney different from the other young men?
Keep the conversation going
- What did you make of his teasing?
- Is he right to correct Catherine's ideas?
Does the novel defend novel-reading or mock it?
Keep the conversation going
- What did The Mysteries of Udolpho do to Catherine's imagination?
- Is reading dangerous for her?
How did you feel about Catherine's suspicions about General Tilney and his late wife?
Keep the conversation going
- What does Henry say to her when he discovers them?
- Was she entirely wrong?
Why does the General turn Catherine out of the abbey so suddenly?
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- What did you make of the way he treats his children?
- Is he, in his own way, the villain Catherine imagined?
How did you feel about the hurried happy ending?
Keep the conversation going
- What has Catherine learned by the end?
- Why does Austen joke about the 'tell-tale compression of the pages'?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.