Artificiality and Fallibility in Northanger Abbey

Artificiality and Fallibility in Northanger Abbey Jane Austen, through the development of socially conscious female characters, is able to render a remarkably accurate depiction of the social structure present during the late 18th century. Her social commentary, however, highlights certain unbecoming qualities in both her protagonists and antagonists, particularly their artificiality. This feature of her writing is especially evident in her satiric novel Northanger Abbey. While Austen is clear in her criticism of characters such as Isabella and John Thorpe, neither of whom is in Catherine’s favor at the end of the novel, the author appears to be far more accepting of the affectedness of General Tilney, who is portrayed as a severe but fair man. Through the artificiality of her characters and the claims she makes about them, Austen weakens the motifs she intends to exemplify, making her an unreliable author. General Tilney is consistently illustrated as a strange man with a somewhat severe manner. Despite this, the text never truly suggests that he is a bad man. He is kind enough to invite Catherine to stay with the Tilneys at Northanger Abbey and, although he is concerned with superficial things such as the grandeur of his home and the wealth of his childrens’ spouses, the text suggests that he wants only the best for his children. Near the end of the novel, Catherine even admits that General Tilney’s interference in their marriage may have actually strengthened the bond between her and Henry, for which she thanks the general: â€Å"†¦the General’s unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to the their felicity, was perhaps conducive to it, by improving their knowledge of each other, and adding strength to their attachment, I leave it to be settled by whomever it may concern, whether the tendency of this work be altogether to recommend parental t yranny, or reward filial disobedience† (Austen 235). Despite Catherine’s fairly positive opinion of him at the end of the novel, the general still proves to be quite artificial early on when, after trying so ardently to impress her in hopes of securing a wealthy wife for Henry, he rudely casts her out of his home without explanation upon hearing from John Thorpe that Catherine’s family is poor. Austen tries to forgive General Tilney’s bad behavior by stating that his conduct may have strengthened the bond between Henry and Catherine, yet his actions were undeniably callous, regardless of the end product. His superficial treatment of Catherine is based entirely off of his focus on money, and this quality makes it difficult to accept the positive light that Austen attempts to shine on him at the end of the story, causing her to appear unreliable as an author. The most artificial character of Northanger Abbey is arguably Isabella Thorpe. Although she initially appears to be perfectly friendly and immediately forms a close bond with Catherine, the text makes it clear that she is somewhat superficial and would be content gossiping the day away. On several occasions, she gloats her apathy toward financial status, claiming that â€Å"[her] wishes are so moderate that the smallest income in nature would be enough for [her]. Where people are really attached, poverty itself is wealth; grandeur [she] detest[s]† (112), as well as that â€Å"a [small] income would satisfy [her]†¦ [She] hate[s] money† (128). The reader, however, later finds that upon learning of her fianc? James Morland’s modest income, she immediately begins to flirt with Fredrick Tilney and eventually calls off the wedding. The reader even catches Isabella contradicting her earlier quotes when speaking to Catherine of her undesired gentleman caller, John T horpe: â€Å"You have both of you something, to be sure, but it is not a trifle that will support a family nowadays; and after all that romancers may say, there is no doing without money† (135). Even though Isabella claims on multiple occasions that finances do not concern her and that wealth even creates a deficit in relationships, she completely flips her argument in both her actions and opinions when she abandons James and tells Catherine that romance is not enough to support a family with modest income. Although Isabella is portrayed in an increasingly negative light as the plot progresses, she commits actions that are rather similar to those of General Tilney, but it is the products of their activities that appear to decide the author’s view of them. The characters’ actions are similar in that they both send away their respective Morlands upon finding that they are not wealthy, but their rewards differ: General Tilney is somewhat respected for the sternness that strengthened Henry and Catherine’s marriage, while Isabella is scorned by the narrator and essentially forgotten by the end. The narrator’s unequal judgment of each character again suggests that Jane Austen is unreliable in her portrayal of the morals she wishes to convey. In addition to the artificiality of Austen’s characters and the inconsistencies that they produce, the narrator also illustrates the same trait in her description of Catherine. Throughout Northanger Abbey, Austen repeatedly refers to Catherine as the story’s heroine. As early as the first pages of the novel, Austen builds Catherine up as the unsuspecting hero: â€Å"No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born a heroine† (13). Naturally, because of frequent recurrence of this description, the reader spends the entirety of the story waiting for Catherine to prove herself worthy of the title. Spoiler alert: she doesn’t. A heroine is admired for her courage and noble qualities, and although Catherine is consistently portrayed as having good nature and fair judgment, at no point does she truly verify that she is a great person herself. By failing to show what she repeatedly tells the audience to be true, Austen again i llustrates her unreliability as a narrator. Jane Austen is an author of critical acclaim within the literary world, but, like any other author, her writings exhibit many flaws. Her account of Northanger Abbey creates a social commentary in which she attempts to criticize the superficial foci of the era’s social scene. Her success in conducting an efficacious critique, however, is hindered by inconsistencies in the artificiality of her characters and their descriptions. Through the artificiality of her characters and the claims she makes about them, Austen weakens the motifs she intends to exemplify, making her an unreliable author in her account of Northanger Abbey. Bibliography Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. New York: Penguin Books, 1995. Print.

MBA Marketing - Report 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

MBA Marketing - Report 1 - Essay Example Littler corner market food makers have great motivation to be hopeful in todays commercial center. Expanded interest for distinguishing offering food products and buyers readiness to visit diverse retailers to get them—is making new promoting chances for food makers and processors that can offer imaginative stock intended to help and inclination of specific customer portion (Dudbridge, 2011). According to Lewis, (2009) Solidification in the food business has significantly gathered purchasing force under the control of simply a couple of expansive food buyers. At each phase of the worth chain, a little handful of vast firms are the predominant players. Four organizations (Tyson, Cargill, Quick, and National Meat Pressing) control 84% of the meatpacking business sector (Hester and Harrison, 2001). In flour processing, three organizations (Cargill/chs, ADM, and Conagra) control 55% of the business sector. At the retail end, Wal-Bazaar has one quarter of the $550 billion U.K. foodstuff market. The five top retail basic supply chains control more than a large portion of (52%) of the business sector and regularly utilize that power to take a bigger offer of the overall revenue far from farmers and other downstream suppliers of food. The aftereffect of the corporate combining has been a 49% expansion in the retailers offer of the shopper dollar and a 29% abatement in the farmer s offer since 1990. Social issue: A year in the wake of being on the cusp of passing historic point enactment to top nursery gasses, greens are coming to acknowledge the way that the shot of national and global movement on environmental change has ended up more remote than at any other time. The Ecological Insurance Office (EPA) is under ambush by recently enabled Republicans in Congress who contend that the general thought of natural security is unreasonably expensive for their obligation ridden nation. Usual to remaining idealistic even with

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Argument paper - Essay Example For example, we do not allow students to cheat in the exams or people to violate speed regulations just because they think it is a fun thing to do. There are laws which restrict such behavior which is considered moral relativism. Similarly, not donating to the needy can also be termed as moral relativism and must be discouraged. Another moral obligation which most people agree to is saving a drowning child. It does not matter whether the drowning child is related to us or is our responsibility at all. All that matters is that a human being is in distress and it is our moral duty to save him even at the cost of sacrificing our own comfort or belongings. We just cannot shy away from the responsibility by say that â€Å"he’s not my baby† or â€Å"I was not babysitting for him†. Similar is the case of donating a reasonable amount of money to the children who are striving to stay alive because of famine or hunger throughout the world. At this point it should be clearl y understood that it does not matter whether the children you are donating for are of the same country, religion or cast. Similar to saving the drowning child who could be an American, a non-Christian or even a migrant, what matters is that we have to help a human being in distress even it means sacrificing our own belongings. ... Comparable to this is an example of a person who does not choose to donate to the needy and therefore exercises the right to choose a wrong attitude. In fact, such people might not be in a proper moral condition to feel the situation in which the needy are. Suitable sympathetic feeling for the needy can be experienced only after appropriate reflection and research which would enable people to determine the extent of help they can and should extend. This would not only facilitate righteous self development but also enable individuals to live their lives as they deem fit. If a wealthy individual is enjoy sunbathing at luxurious beach hotels or balls at casinos while million others are in dire need of some part of his wealth then it is morally wrong for him to live his life as per his choice; saying â€Å"I have earned the money and I have a right to spend it as I please†. Some people also oppose the notion that it is our moral responsibility to help those in need by saying that although they have a responsibility towards those whom they have wronged, they do not have any responsibility towards those whom they have not wronged (Singer 28). This can be termed as an extreme view for the fact that if this argument is accepted as reasonable, no charity would work for the jobless, the disabled or the famine stricken people. This also entails that help to needy should also not be restricted in boundaries of one’s neighborhood, city or even country. Help should and must be extended to all without prejudice to boundaries in a manner that one is fulfilling a moral obligation. Some people feel that USA is already giving generously in terms of aid to underdeveloped nations, which is enough and there is no need to donate more