Abstract

Parody contains a richness that allows it to survive through ancient, modern and post-modern times as well as span through various mediums of art. While parody is normally seen as a spoof, it also contains a level of respect for the parodied work. Parody requires “an essential tension” where “there [stands] both a homage and a kind of thumbed nose” (Fowles 18) toward the original text. Jane Austen thumbs her nose at gothic novels in her first work, Northanger Abbey, as she recounts the tale of seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, an avid reader of the gothic novel. Catherine is led on a heroine’s journey to the town of Bath where she meets the Tilneys and the Thorpes, who shape and influence her in different ways. Later, she is invited to the Tilney’s residence, Northanger Abbey, the ideal gothic setting. In both locations, Catherine is faced with the challenge of growing up in a reality that does not match the desired one from her novels. Instead of simply poking fun in Northanger Abbey, Austen uses the genre of parody to create a new “realism” in fiction. While parody is often considered a type of criticism of a particular work, Austen uses it creatively to emphasize the realism in Northanger Abbey. She does this particularly in opposition to the gothic’s lack of realism in relation to the setting, the hyperbolic nature of gothic characters, the narrator, and the absolute nature of “happy” endings.