The Setting

The setting of Northanger Abbey is unique because it resembles the settings of the gothic novels that Catherine so loves to read. The Abbey turns out to be more modern than Catherine expects because General Tilney has fixed it all up and left only a few of the old structures. It still takes on a gothic form and it is the gothic feel and look of the abbey that triggers Catherine’s imagination and makes her believe things about the Abbey that are not actually true. For example, Catherine convinces herself that there is something mysterious about the old cabinets that she finds while exploring in Northanger Abbey. However, when she opens them, she discovers that they contain nothing mysterious or suspicious at all; only some old laundry bills. The setting is intriguing because it is like that of a gothic novel, but yet it is not. The hidden passageways lead to nothing suspicious and the fierce storms do not cause mysterious things to happen. It is all in her imagination. Catherine expects these passageways and storms to have the same outcome as in the many gothic novels that she has read because her surroundings remind her of them. The ballroom dances which Catherine attends with Isabella and the Allens also allow us to experience the magnificence of the wealthier British society, which are again very common in gothic novels.