Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Northanger Abbey

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

23 reviews

words_and_coffee's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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erica_cronje's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Northanger Abbey is my third Austen novel. . .and i expected a little bit more from the novel. It was certainly entertaining enough, an easy read, but it lacked a certain something. I understand it's her first novel so she might not yet have been as settled in her writing style and themes of commentary as seen in later novels, but it does make it more difficult to like in my opinion.

The pacing feels very off centre, the first half drags by with very little actually happening, we are simply meeting characters and setting up plotlines, which is fine, but then the second half of the novel feels incredibly rushed. The two sides of the novel does not feel as though they go together and the novel felt very inconsistent.

The way this book is marketed is a type of satire on the gothic and gothic literature, and while that is true to some extent, but it's marketed as the main theme, when it only truly lasts a few chapters in the second half and then Henry puts Catherine in her place and then poof all of her darker thoughts are just gone and that really bothered me. She has spent about a year being influenced by gothic literature and one paragraph from henry and it is all just wiped from her mind? it felt really sudden and i honestly lost interest after that, sinec now, the thing i had picked the book up for - it's commentary on the gothic - was over within a few pages.

As far as characters go, I like them well enough. Catherine is extremely naive and we are shown that really well with her inner thoughts and the conclusions she so easily jumps to, which does make her a type of unreliable narrator and brings a type of laughaniloty to the novel, since her thought process is just. . .so silly sometimes. I really appreciated Isabella as a complicated character, a woman striving for more than what her society allows her to, and while i do dislike her in the context of the main character, i appreciate that she is complex and wants more for herself and is therefore shunned for it by her society. The Tilneys and men - could not care less for. I have no strong feelings about them whatsoever, don't hate them, don't love them just can't find it in myself to care.

Ater reading three of her novels, i think it's time to acknowledge that Austen is not for me, her stories are too light for me, as well as her commentary and themes. I prefer novels with darker themes and darker characters, real gothic novels, so i do admit that my review on the novel is much more biased than i originally thought since , as it turns out, Austen's writing is just not for me.

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anjasshelf's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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abigailhaagen's review against another edition

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funny hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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rinku's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Northanger Abbey is actually the first Austen book I’ve read, and I quite enjoyed it. It was just nice to read a book that isn’t too exiting or nerve-wrecking for once lmao.

This book follows Catherine who, after spending some time in Bath, falls in love with Henry but many stones are laid in their way in the course of the story. This novel was overall just relaxing to read which isn’t a bad thing inherently. In the conservations between Henry and Catherine that were really fun to read and made me chuckle a few times, they talk a bit about how non-fiction and fiction are viewed differently. It’s interesting how there are still people today thinking non-fiction is better/more intelligent than fiction.

The second part of the book was more interesting though where the finally go to the name giving Northanger Abbey that played a smaller part that I thought it would be. It was so fun to see how different the Abbey was from Catherine’s expectations. Everything is too normal for her taste that she even starts to imagine a murder

that never happened

. I read in one review that the book shows that the “real” monsters are the ones living among us aka people like the Thorpes. With this interpretation, I could enjoy the last part of the story even more.

Of course, you can see that the book is a child of its time. There’s a lot of misogyny and one instance of antisemitism. In general though, it was nice to read a book in this time period and thus learn what life for women was back then. Catherina was an interesting main character and towards the end, I really started feeling for her. Besides her, it was first a bit hard to keep up with all the characters introduced because many of them share the same surname. Furthermore, I find it really funny that even in books from 200 years ago, there are love triangles.

Northanger Abbey won’t be the last book by Austen that I’ll read. I of course have to read Pride and Prejudice one day, and I also want to watch the movie for Northanger Abbey since I can imagine the adaptation to be quite fun as well.

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diana_raquel's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."

From the six major novels of Jane Austen, to me, this is the odd one. Maybe because it's one of her early works, this is a little rough around the edges.

The first time I read Northanger Abbey, I thought it was a little odd but it had some charm to it. Still, I thought that this one would become my least favorite book by Austen. By then, I already had read the other five major novels, so this one was the least favorite because it was odd.

Now that I've reread Austen several times, I still think this is the odd one but it isn't my least favorite (that "honor" belongs to the irritating thing also known as Mansfield Park). At least, this one isn't impregnated with irritating and boring characters. Well, I absolutely detest John and find Isabella irritating, but I'm supposed to feel that way. He's the villain, she's the "fake friend", you're not supposed to like them. But, in Mansfield Park, you're supposed to like the Crawfords.

But, comparisons to Mansfield Park aside, to me this isn't a bad book. It simply lacks some characteristics that you expect in an Austen novel. The love story isn't the great love affair that you see in other works, and the pacing is a little wonky- more than half of the book is set in Bath, and we spent very little time in Northanger Abbey. To me, this is more a coming of age story, not a love story.

But I actually liked the satire and the social commentary. And it is a fun book, just don't expect it to be a masterpiece. I actually think this is a good book to start reading Austen or classics. It is entertaining and easy to read. So if you're looking for an introduction to classics or to the regency period in literature, this is a great way to start.

Final note: If you want to watch an adaptation of this novel, I recommend the movie adaptation of 2007 starting Felicity Jones and JJ Feild. It's a very good, faithful, and charming adaptation of this coming of age story. Perfect for a rainy day!

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Writing: 5⭐️/5

As a Jane Austen fan, it’s hard to find a flaw with her writing. The flow of her prose is well crafted and many lines are truly stunning. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Characters: 4.75⭐️/5

The characters were fun and refreshing. I enjoy that Austen’s protagonists always feel different, and Catherine was no different. I enjoyed her ignorance to the world around her that felt perfectly in line with someone of her age and class. Reading about her misunderstandings felt fun – even funny or horrifying – and I loved watching her opinion of everyone around her grow and change. Her toxic friend, Isabella, even felt alive on the page. I could understand how someone like that could infiltrate Catherine’s life. My only grievance is General Tilney, whose character seemed rushed towards change at the end for a snag in the plot. I didn’t hate the flow of this story, simply wish his reaction had been slightly more aligned with a “gentleman” as he was so heavily painted to be.

Plot: 4.25⭐️/5

The small, humorous, and innocent misunderstandings that directed the plot in the majority of the novel are directly contrasted with the seriousness of the final misunderstanding in a way that brought the story to life. I loved the lower stakes drama being outshone by the high stakes clash in the final moments of the story. I did, however, wish that more care had been given to the final moments of the romance. I missed having a big moment reminiscent of Pride & Prejudice or Emma. For this reason, I felt a bit let down by the ending.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of Jane Austen
Fans of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Those looking for a fun classic novel with slight hints of romance
Those who love MC with an overactive imagination

Content Warnings?

Misogyny, sexism, classism, death of a parent, death, illness, toxic relationships, toxic friendships,

Post-Reading Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

I felt like the romance was a bit of a let down, which bothered my when I turned the final page. I had fun, but I went into it expecting a bit more of a romantic pinnacle that never really came.

Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

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