... And Details Of Her Experiences As Criticism Of The Gothic Novel Jane Austen consciously refers to and comments on the standards and conventions of the gothic genre in her novel Northanger Abbey. Throughout the entire narrative she portrays her main character, Catherine Morland, as ordinary and the opposite of the heroines customarily seen in the gothic novels of the time. "She (Catherine ... ashamed of Isabella, and ashamed of having ever loved her" (190). Austen is clearly showing what actual, contemporary women did to become heroines in Britain's late eighteenth century middle class. ...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate