Beyond Gothic Freedom and Limitation: Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey as an Expansion of Female Independence

  • Katherine Goertz University of Victoria

Abstract

Considering her perspective, as a female writer in a period unfriendly to women in publication, Jane Austen appears to be a forerunner to feminism in her attempt to legitimize women as intellectual and competent beings. This becomes apparent through both her defense and her criticism of the Gothic Romance tradition in her novel, Northanger Abbey.

Author Biography

Katherine Goertz, University of Victoria
Second Year English Honours Student
Published
2013-09-20
Section
Articles