Northanger Abbey - Blog Post #2

Northanger Abbey - Blog Post #2

"I am excessively concerned that he should have any regard for me— but indeed it has been quite unintentional on my side; I never had the smallest idea of it. Pray undeceive him as soon as you can, and tell him I beg his pardon— that is— I do not know what I ought to say— but make him understand what I mean, in the properest way. I would not speak disrespectfully of a brother of yours, Isabella, I am sure; but you know very well that if I could think of one man more than another— he is not the person" (Austen, 188).

This passage says a lot about Catherine's character, and what exactly she feels she is able to say and do, given her position/role in society at the time. She appears very concerned about John's affection for her, not only because she believes she has somehow mislead him into believing his feelings are mutual, but also because she knows that declining his proposal would be difficult for her and not well received. We have seen this before in the novel, several times, where Catherine has been too reserved to act exactly as she wishes she could, like when she was persuaded by her friends and John to go on a carriage ride with them when she should have actually been going on a walk with the Tilney's. In this instance she believes whatever behavior of hers that may have led on John was inappropriate for a woman and she probably also believes that declining his marriage proposal would be similarly inappropriate. In addition, the passage highlights how proper Catherine feels she has to be. Even though we know she has been quite annoyed with John in the past, she still feels it would be improper to speak badly of him and feels the need to reassure Isabella that she is speaking disrespectfully of her brother.Catherine appears to be a girl who has a hard time saying "no" sometimes and standing up for what she actually wants, as most women in the time period probably were, this plays into Jane Austen's social commentary aspect in her writing. Catherine is likely a representation of many middle-class english women of the period and therefore acts in the proper, womanly way which is expected of her.