John Thorpe’s Gig
Land Based Vehicles
When Catherine first meets John Thorpe, he is recklessly driving his new gig through Bath. He is very proud of his new open vehicle, boasting about its worth and demanding admiration for it. The pressure he puts on Catherine to take a ride in it when she had already committed to walking with Mr. Tileny sets up the conflict between Catherine’s two suitors. When Catherine learns from Mr. Allen that is was inappropriate to ride in an open carriage with a man, she realizes Mr. Thorpe does not have her best interests in mind.
Unknown
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Mrs. Tilney’s Portrait
Paintings
Eleanor Tilney has a portrait of her late mother in her bedroom. Catherine believes the portrait’s subject is lovely and pensive, but she also finds the portrait mysterious because she believes that General Tilney should have it in his room. His dislike for the portrait of his wife becomes evidence for Catherine’s belief that he may have killed his wife, demonstrating the unreliability of Catherine’s evidence.
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Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
High Black Cabinet
Furniture
Catherine discovers a high black cabinet of black and gold Japan wood in her bedroom, and it reminds her of a gothic mystery Henry told to tease her. Before bed, Catherine opens the chest and pulls out a manuscript that she cannot read in the dark. She spends the night believing she has found a secret document only to discover in the daylight that it is a laundry list. This is her second mistaken assumption about Northanger Abbey, but it is still not enough to stop her from imagining herself in a gothic novel.
Unknown
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
High Cedar Chest
Furniture
On her first evening at Northanger Abbey, Catherine discovers the large heavy cedar chest tucked away in her room. The chest has a tarnished silver lock and broken silver handles. Catherine struggles to open the chest, believing it to hold a dark secret, only to find it full of white cotton bed sheets. This mistaken assumption is the first of many she makes about Northanger Abbey’s mysteries, and though she vows to learn from her mistake and tame her imagination, she does not follow through.
unknown
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Books
While in Bath, Catherine Morland is reading The Mysteries of Udolpho and discusses it excitedly with Isabella. Catherine loves to read novels, and Udolpho quickly becomes one of her favorite topics of conversation. John Thorpe’s dismissal of novels as insipid and Henry Tilney’s enjoyment of Udolpho help demonstrate the compatibility between Catherine and Henry. While Henry and Eleanor balance the enjoyment of the novel with good sense, Catherine is heavily influenced by the gothic mystery and begins to see evidence of horrors at Northanger Abbey. The novel’s influence leads her into her horrible suspicions about Captian Tilney that cause a conflict between Catherine and Henry.
Ann Radcliffe
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel