On page 32 Jane Austen writes, “Friendship is certainly the
finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.”
To give more context, the scene in
which the line appeared revolved around one of the many times that Catherine
was thinking and wishing to see Henry Tilney. After overly ruminating over Henry,
Miss Thorpe offered Catherine an escape through friendship, following the
normal Bath procedures of relaxation.
The quote brings up a reoccurring
theme of friendship and the contrast that it has with love, both in how the
relationships differ as well as the conflicts they pose so far throughout the
story; often Catherine is conflicted in choosing between Henry and Isabelle.
The idea of friendship being an ailment
for pain caused by love is contrasted later when Catherine experiences her
friendship with Isabelle, James, and Johnathan conflicting with her attempt to
get closer with the Tilneys. Is the book going to show a priority of friendship
over love? Will the later developed marriage between Isabelle and James show
that friendship and love intermingle? Will Catherine find happiness with Henry
Tilney? Or will she see that here mere connection with him on an external level
is not enough to combat the lack of friendship and more baseline connection
that we see with Isabelle and James?
The question is likely
foreshadowing the pain that Catherine will experience as she attempts to find
love. It also makes me think about how Catherine doesn’t truly “fit in” in
Bath. That is not to say she shouldn’t be there, but from an emotional and
social level she is not similar to the people, men in particular, and will
likely experience frustration and pain from trying to develop relationships
that shouldn’t be fostered.
No comments:
Post a Comment