The Parodies of Gothic Conventions in Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject English - Literature, Works, grade: 1, University of Gdansk, course: English Literature, language: English, abstract: The parody of Gothicism emerged as a reaction against its conventions, just as Gothic novel itself was directed against the rationality of Neoclassicism. At first, the Gothic novel gained great interest of the readers, the genre developed rapidly and many writers, like Clara Reeve, Mary Shelley or Charles Maturin contributed to this kind of fiction. However, the set of conventions established by Horace Walpole and then developed by Mrs. Radcliffe, became a point of reference for Jane Austen to create a novel titled Northanger Abbey, which became an outstanding parody of the conventions. Thus, Jane Austen reused many Gothic elements, retold the story in a parodying way in order to show the silliness and artificiality of the genre.