JANE AUSTEN’S WRITING STYLE: Isabella Thorpe & Indirect Characterization | Northanger Abbey Analysis

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Isabella Thorpe from Northanger Abbey is one of Jane Austen’s most ghastly comic grotesques. How does Jane Austen craft Isabella Thorpe using indirect characterization? How does Jane Austen expose Isabella Thorpe’s essential characteristics in just one paragraph? How does Jane Austen expose Isabella Thorpe’s character through the (indirect) presentation of her language, diction, idiom? How does Jane Austen’s writing style incorporate indirect characterization?
In the lecture, I close read a passage from Northanger Abbey that concerns Isabella Thorpe-“‘Past three o’clock!’ It was inconceivable, incredible, impossible!”-in order to show Jane Austen’s beautiful construction of characterisation within only a few pointed sentences. I also consider a contemporary review of Northanger Abbey from The British Critic (March 1818) showing that Jane Austen’s powers of characterization were celebrated by her very first readers.
Analysis of NORTHANGER ABBEY by JANE AUSTEN
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2 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 264

@DrOctaviaCox 2 года назад

If you like the work I do, then you can support it here: www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=D8LSKGJP2NL4N Thank you very much indeed for watching my channel.

@Rosefire Год назад

"Northanger Abbey" taught me that if someone says they never think or care about themselves or money, run for the hills.

@AllTheArtsy Год назад

That contemporary review really highlights what Virginia Woolf would mean when she says of Austen "that of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness." Because it does not hit you in the face with obvious technique, plotting, etc. But it is evident in the close reading of her text how she plays with convention, how particular her language, how she builds characters and winds her story together.

@einahsirro1488 2 года назад

"It's three o'clock in the afternoon, which is a DAILY OCCURRENCE..." LOL!

@archervine8064 2 года назад

It is amazing how much of Jane Austen’s life advice still holds true, even 200 years later. Beware the person, in any context, who is TOO eager to get into your life.

@arrystophanes7909 2 года назад

I've always had the opposite problem

@janus6349 2 года назад

@@arrystophanes7909 same, it's probably solid advice, but I never had to worry about it XD

@ValerieBerezina Год назад

I remember thinking the same when I was reading Northanger Abbey for the very first time. That I have in the course of my life met nearly every character described in the novel, and that applies especially to the characters of Isabella Thorpe and her brother. Some things never change :)

@LittleMissLion 8 месяцев назад

Yes, or people who are too quick to tell you their sob story while quickly demonising another. The "Wickham" effect, I call it. I've come across a few, unfortunately. As well as Isabella types. I'm more cautious now, but have been burnt in the past. I am a friendly person and want to give people a chance!

@carolynhunt7333 4 месяца назад

Her advice still holds true because human nature doesn’t change.

@vorkosigrrl6047 2 года назад

What?! Have 29 minutes actually passed?? My dear Dr. Cox, it is inconceivable, incredible, impossible! I’m sure that 29 minutes never passed so swiftly before, nor ever will again, in all the history of the world. And so, although I have thousands of things to say, I shan’t say any of them, with the one exception that I enjoyed this video excessively! Thank you once again for your interesting insights into Austen’s writing. 😁

@sharragamez1318 2 года назад

I don't have it in front of me, but the scene in Emma where they pick strawberries always makes me cackle with glee. Mrs. Elton's excitement beforehand, and then the brief description of how quickly it fades is absolutely masterful in illuminating her character. There's commentary on her insincerity, obsession with appearance over reality, and even maybe some class observations. It's one of my favorite Austen passages.

@veronicajaeger3604 2 года назад

Agree!

@SarahElisabethJoyal 2 года назад

A relevant excerpt, for anyone who's interested: Mrs. Elton, in all her apparatus of happiness, her large bonnet and her basket, was very ready to lead the way in gathering, accepting, or talking-strawberries, and only strawberries, could now be thought or spoken of.-“The best fruit in England-every body’s favourite-always wholesome.-These the finest beds and finest sorts.-Delightful to gather for one’s self-the only way of really enjoying them.-Morning decidedly the best time-never tired-every sort good-hautboy infinitely superior-no comparison-the others hardly eatable-hautboys very scarce-Chili preferred-white wood finest flavour of all-price of strawberries in London-abundance about Bristol-Maple Grove-cultivation-beds when to be renewed-gardeners thinking exactly different-no general rule-gardeners never to be put out of their way-delicious fruit-only too rich to be eaten much of-inferior to cherries-currants more refreshing-only objection to gathering strawberries the stooping-glaring sun-tired to death-could bear it no longer-must go and sit in the shade.”

@londongael 2 года назад

@@SarahElisabethJoyal That "apparatus of happiness"!

@dorothywillis1 2 года назад

I love the stream-of-consciousness description of Mrs. E.'s strawberry picking!

@marithusby8204 2 года назад

@@dorothywillis1 Me too. It is my favorite stream-of-consciousness in all of Austen's work

@cminmd0041 2 года назад

Every time I read any Isabella Thorpe I just imagine her as a modern day MLM Boss Babe!! So dramatic, over the top and her constant appeal to emotion!!! She'd be at the TOP of the Hun pyramid!!!

@jessica_jam4386 2 года назад

Haha🤣 I can see what you mean. I can picture Isabella calling someone her bestie or her boss babe squad just because they signed up for her MLM

@kittikats Месяц назад

She'd be a minorly famous influencer. Insta not youtube as she doesn't have enough substance or interests to make videos

@racheljank1163 2 года назад

Mrs. Palmer, in Sense and Sensibility, has some golden lines. When Elinor asks her about Willoughby, she says something like, "Oh, I know him quite intimately. That is, we've attended the same ball once or twice, and I've looked at him, and everyone I talked to seems to like him greatly." There is another space where she says something similar about Marianne being engaged. "I heard it directly from Colonel Brandon himself....when I asked him "isn't Marianne going to get married?" he didn't deny it!" Or something like that. So good.

@katherineroddy9190 2 года назад

Yes, she is funny!

@AllTheArtsy Год назад

Yes! The absolute ability to say so much without saying anything of value at all! Lady Middleton, Charlotte Palmer, Mrs Allen, and perhaps Caroline Bingley and Augusta Elton can all come together and have nothing of consequence said to each other despite all being quite verbose.

@villagedianne 2 года назад

In the scene where Mr. Elton proposes to Emma, and is then insulted by the her imputing that he really likes Harriet, he denies this and blurts out “Everyone has their level.” This dig at Harriet always stands out for me as showing his character.

@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co 2 года назад

Elton has a point. He's a vicar and not a rector, which means he doesn't earn much and isn’t particularly highly ranked within the church. He needs to marry money if he wants his children to enjoy the same opportunities he did as a child, and he needs to marry respectably if he wants to rise in the Church. He literally cannot marry a poor, illegitimate (and therefore less respectable) woman. Emma should recognize that Mr. Elton can't marry Harriet, but she doesn't.

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

But Emma also thinks, Elton is below her level and gets mad at him for daring to propose to her not just because of Harriet.

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

Me Here, point or no point it's up to him to marry or not marry Harriet. But Emma gets mad

@SG-1-GRC 2 месяца назад

Whilst acknowledging that Mr Elton sees Harriet as beneath him for practical reasons. He also perceives her in that light because position, influence, wealth etc are far more important to him than the Christian values he ought to possess. He is after all supposed to be a spiritual shepherd of those around him. His behaviour and opinions ought to reflect that. Emma doesn't just reject him because she sees herself as above him. In that moment she begins to also see what kind of man he really is. His religion is only surface level. He proves this by his choice of bride. Chosen purely and simply because she will be socially acceptable and support his ambitions. Harriet has her flaws, but her character is nevertheless far superior to that of the woman he does marry. He does not marry for love. Emma made the error of thinking that he would. And she knew for well that he was not in love with her.

@subratanandy2142 Месяц назад

@@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co yes , Mr Elton was an opportunist and only pretends to be a virtuous person , you proved that point 😂.

@BethF827 2 года назад

I love that even after 200 years, readers can still relate to the characters Austen describes. We all know an Isabella!

@AllTheArtsy Год назад

Yes! Truthfully too many Isabellas!

@elisaangel9789 2 года назад

Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice not understanding Lizzy Bennet's bona fide refusal of his marriage proposal. Even to the point that he accepted Mrs. Bennet's congratulations still not understanding that Lizzy refused him. Mr. Collins relayed the particulars of the proposal to Mrs. Bennet "with the result of which he trusted he had every reason to be satisfied, since the refusal which his cousin had steadfastly given him would naturally flow from her bashful modesty and the genuine delicacy of her character. This information, however, startled Mrs. Bennet. . ." And also Mrs. Bennet is revealed to actually know her own daughter.

@SarahElisabethJoyal 2 года назад

Men who cannot take no for an answer are still such a problem 200 years later that (for me at least) that entire sequence is genuinely uncomfortable to read

@kittikats Месяц назад

To be fair for the time period ... Lizzy had no reason to refuse him. Marriage was not often about love. He's got a good position He's got excellent future wealth Meaning she will be mistress of her current home He has impressive connections (Lady De Bourgh) And is connected to her family And isn't abusive, immoral or otherwise objectionable Therefore he literally cannot understand her no. As a relatively poor woman with nothing much to recommend her ... there is no reasonable way he could be rejected! We all know he is a bumbling and arrogant man that would be annoying to live with.

@Marielusi 2 года назад

As an introvert I wonder what it would be like to meet Isabella. I'd probably run away after her talking one minute..... It's so interesting to me that you can see that conceit and exaggerations are running in the family. John is actually quite similar to Isabella. But Cathrine sees him for what he is quite early on. With Isabella she needs and eye-opener. But I imagine the reason for that is that Cathrine longed for a female friend of the same age, so she gave her some slack?

@shelster 2 года назад

I could imagine that introverts would have been drained after being exposed to Isabella even for just a few minutes. There are many in my acquaintances who are like Isabella, I could guarantee that it's best to just run away from them. There seems to be no benefit unless you would like to practice writing on their characterization

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

John's behavior to Catherine was clearly inappropriate. So, it is easy to know something is off. But the same clinginess and extreme expressions from a woman were not that inappropriate or even unusual. So, she believed her.

@raij465 2 года назад

You’re absolutely right; I sometimes feel a bit drained after just reading a scene with Isabella in it! You made a good point about Catherine’s desire for a friend. I am only halfway through the book, but have often wondered why she sees through John but not his sister.

@MindiB 2 года назад

It is heartening that Austen’s exceptional talent was, in fact, recognized in her own time. ETA: And in that vein, Dr. Cox always impresses with her precise and evocative observations. It is a pleasure to hear language used with such discernment-by both women!

@Midorikonokami 2 года назад

Isabella is knocking, she would like to come in to say it's inconceivable that it is 3 o'clock!

@phoebehill953 2 года назад

Glad to know that’s what’s happening - I was afraid a kid was locked in the closet!

@Midorikonokami 2 года назад

@@phoebehill953 that would probably in a book by Mrs Radcliff, not JA.

@Cat_Woods 2 года назад

The most sterling example in my memory is Fanny Dashwood talking her husband out of keeping his promise to his father to help his mother and sisters. Not just because it shows me her entire character and motivations in one conversation, but also because it is such a perfect illustration of a manipulative narcissistic person that I've often referred back to it in my own life. It's how Austen chooses and highlights the words of dialogue to polish her figurine of their character. I know I would have disliked or felt hurt by Fanny if I'd had the misfortune to be in her life, but I doubt I would have been able to identify the ugliness of her character so crystal clear so quickly. Same in my life -- sometimes I feel uncomfortable or upset by someone's behavior but it takes me a long while to notice the objective indications that they are deliberately doing something ugly (rather than my just reading into it or interpreting it). But I can think "reminds me of Fanny Dashwood" and recognize it in an instant. I love how Austen gives us so many polished portrayals like that, for our future reference as well as current enjoyment. Others that I particularly appreciate were Mr. Collins, Mrs. Dashwood, Lucy Steele, Mr. Elton (all mentioned in other comments), and Willoughby when he is so cold to Marianne at the dance. On the positive side, Elinor Dashwood enduring Lucy's deliberate emotional torture silently and refraining from confiding even in Marianne, and Elizabeth Bennett politely and generously handling Mr. Collins after his marriage. Many of them, but those are the ones that come immediately to mind.

@voluntaryismistheanswer 2 года назад

Fanny Dashwood may be the creation of Jane's for whom I feel the most distaste.

@jrpipik 2 года назад

Isabella's behavior throughout the novel is all about one thing: securing a rich husband. She manipulates everything in her power toward that end. She has been told by her brohter (inaccurately, as almost everything John says turns out to be) that Morland comes from a rich family and has been angling for him since his stay with the Thorpe's at Christmas. This is why she forms a friendship with Catherine in the first place: her good will will help attach James. (Once she finds out the Morlands are not well-to-do, she begins casting her eye around for another prospect and settles on Captain Tilney -- unfortunately for her.) The present text shows Isabella at her most manipulative. She had abandoned poor Catherine to the company of her brother for hours but now has to keep her from being put out by it with some kind of explanation. So she protests that she had planned to spend more time with her and can't believe how late is has gotten. She puts on a complete dramatic performance to keep Catherine (and so James) from becoming displeased. She further flatters Morland by making him the only authority about time she will credit. 3:00 is, of course, not very late. Isabella only wants to get away from Catherine and be alone with James again. Though she says she must get home right away, one suspects she doesn't show up at the Thorpe's till well after tea time. In a way, I pity Isabella. Many a pretty girl can be given to understand early that her looks are her greatest asset, and rather than use what intelligence she has to perfect her morals, manner, and education, she must use what wit she has to make the greatest use of the effect her beauty has on others. Late bloomers like Catherine and Fanny Price have the advantage of having formed a core of moral principles before their emerging beauty begins attracting attention (whereas Lizzie Bennet and Elinor Dashwood are simply too intelligent for their appearance to ever be their most important feature). Isabella thinks her looks are the only thing she has to "trade up" with, and so she negotiates the terrain of relationships ruthlessly. In the end, as Austen shows us, it's just sad.

@NatsAstrea 2 года назад

And poor Isabella is just not as good at it as is Lucy Steele. I think Lucy would have been a perfect partner for Mr Rushworth (Mansfield Park). Too bad they never met!

@Gurlonyoutube Год назад

This is exactly how I understood what was happening in this scene- Isabella not only wanted to make an excuse to get away from Catherine for the rest of the day for some more alone-time with James, but this event also came after a string of events where she ditches Catherine for James, so here she says it seems that they’ll never get a moment alone together again, how sad! She’s not only making an excuse to get away right then, but she’s acknowledging all the similar moments where she’s ditched Catherine for James before and most importantly prime Catherine for all the times where Isabella will do the same in the future, and sweep everything under the rug as just bad luck that keeps them apart.

@Gurlonyoutube Год назад

Also exactly, she’s insincerely flattering James by only choosing to believe him when it comes to the time, but i also think she was trying to flatter him as well by indirectly making such a fuss of how time flew by with him, which is exactly how over-the-top and coquettish she can be. It’s an amazing passage and says so much about her!

@dorothywillis1 2 года назад

My husband and I enjoy watching for people who remind us of someone in Austen. It's lots of fun. A lot of people never think of "What would this character be like if they lived today?" I shocked a local Jane Austen Society meeting by pointing out that if he were alive today John Thorpe would probably be selling used cars.

@jaimicottrill2831 2 года назад

Lol, either that or he would be one of those “crypto bros”!

@dorothywillis1 2 года назад

@@jaimicottrill2831 LOL!

@AD-hs2bq 2 года назад

Austen characterizes ridiculous people with such cleverness and humor. One can imagine her at her writing table smiling as she invents yet another bit of fun. ♥️ thank you for focusing on this. Great fun!

@di3486 2 года назад

She was a brilliant psychologist from before psychology existed!!!

@mausicute8804 2 года назад

Totally agree with both of you

@janwel74 2 года назад

Regarding Austen’s Monet-like mastery at depicting characters, I have to say that both Marianne Dashwood and even more so, Lucy Steele, are beautifully portrayed through their actions. I also enjoy how she displays through clever dialogue how Wickham shows his true colors to the attentive reader in his conversation about his misfortunes with Elizabeth. He’s clearly testing the waters to see how well his speech will be received, and her unguarded responses give him the perfect cue to know how to proceed. The reader can clearly see through his smokescreen what Elizabeth cannot.

@AllTheArtsy Год назад

And the magic is that the first-time reader is unlikely to "easily" see through the smokescreen actually. Because we very likely occupy the same thought and perspective of the heroine through whom much of the story is conveyed. And yet it does become perfectly clear to the repeat (or the eagle-eyed first time) reader! Austen's gift is that she makes us think we are smarter while we are reading her

@adrienne4028 2 года назад

Austen's indirect characterization of Isabella is brilliant. Isabella is such a drama queen! Personally, it would be “inconceivable, incredible and impossible” for me to suffer her company for very long! Ha! 😂

@cs3742 Год назад

Isabella was such a drama queen, quite like some of the presenters seen in YT videos today. Your calm in-depth assessment of Isabella is the direct opposite of her absurdity. Thank you for this illustration of Jane Austen's writing genius.

@Stef947 2 года назад

One of my favorite ridiculous characters is Mary Musgrove. I love how Austen weaves in all of her humorous condradictions so the reader understands how hypocritical she is.

@k.h.6991 Год назад

I think Mary Musgrove, as the youngest Elliott daughter, is also the most neglected one. Her mother died when she was young and when her older sisters were at school. No wonder she learned to get attention by fancying herself Ill. Jane Austen's genius is in how even such a character is ultimately psychologically realistic.

@nickwilliams7547 2 года назад

Thank you Octavia; I always enjoy your videos, especially on Austen. The reviewer of NA reflects what we still find today: Austen's characters ring so true because even 200 years later we can easily recognise in them traits in various people amongst our own acquaintance, and all without even a hint of cliché.

@DrOctaviaCox 2 года назад

Yes, absolutely. JA has a real knack for depicting characters' idiosyncrasies.

@kathyroddy Год назад

Dear Dr. Cox--I must admit that, in college, literary analysis left me cross-eyed in boredom. I didn't see the point in picking a novel to pieces when you could simply enjoy it. But since discovering your videos, I have come to understand the point of literary analysis--I see now that I adds a whole new layer of meaning to well-written novels. Thanks!

@frankupton5821 2 года назад

Wasn't it a bit harsh to lock one of your students in a cupboard for sending an essay late?

@davidjones332 2 года назад

I thought it might be the bailiffs -they were very persistent.

@ZiggyWhiskerz 10 месяцев назад

This comment was PERFECT! I'm honestly disappointed that she never responded to it.

@lizziebkennedy7505 9 месяцев назад

Perhaps they failed to provide any evidence whatsoever for their claims.

@carriebryan1211 8 месяцев назад

Workman hanging diplomas in the office next door.

@MemristerBoogieDown 7 месяцев назад

A year late but that does explain the persistent but somehow polite knocking. XD

@HRJohn1944 2 года назад

Another great video - thank you. Poor Isabella - after all, she really didn't want very much: just a very rich husband, in which, if she succeeded, we are not told about it. Compare her with Lucy Steele, who is much more clever and much more realistic, and ends up not only with a very rich husband, but one who - through Lucy's endeavours - is likely to inherit the major part of Mrs Ferrars' remaining fortune. But Lucy is prepared not only to abase herself - she knows that that is the only way to get anything that she wants - but to settle (or appear to settle) for something less. Henry Tilney overestimates Isabella when he says that she is too smart to part with one lover before another is absolutely secured: but then Isabella overestimates her own intelligence, and as she is not prepared to demean herself in any way, I suppose she was bound to fail. Lucy would have looked on James Morland's livings and thought "how can we increase the tithes". She certainly wouldn't have been so obvious in trying entrap Frederick Tilney and would first of all have made sure that the inheritance was certain

@dorothywillis1 2 года назад

Yes, Lucy Steele (What an appropriate name!) is much smarter than Isabella Thorpe.

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

Don't forget that Tilney is a very mean character. A character that is at least not expected to come from a good, respectable family. So, she was very unlucky. While, even the eldest Ferars would not have tricked a woman like this.

@pmarkhill519 2 года назад

Austen across the years makes me feel less alone. How many times have we observed a person acting out, while others in the room seem oblivious. Austen let’s us say inwardly, “Thank you, someone gets it.”

@AAMARTCLUB Год назад

Yesss! As a child I was gaslighted and reading Austen gave me the language of rebellion and understanding… she drew the ‘normal’ and the ‘abnormal’ so clearly… I could reference those characters who were up to no good but hiding their intentions. The insights!

@a24-45 2 года назад

I really enjoyed hearing the review from a contemporary critic. Re how Austen conveys character: I love how sparing Austen is with both describing her character's interactions, and with explicit character analysis. As with Shakespeare, with Austen we rarely get "stage business" -- spoken parts qualified with adverbs, descriptions of the characters' vocal pace, tone, volume, posture, gestures, facial expression, etc. So we mostly cant "see" the characters as they speak, the text doesn't give us explicit guidance for the manner in which they are saying what they're saying - we need to use our imagination if we want to visualise the characters as they converse. IRL, we would observe a speaker's body language to decide whether they are being sincere or not. But Austen makes us rely almost exclusively on the characters' words alone. Austen forces us to listen - with care - to her character's preferred vocabulary and phrases for clues, while she is careful not to slow down the pace with too much directly-transcribed speech. Her indirect technique allows her to condense so much of the characters' key expressions of speech into a short space. (after all, who would want to read an actual transcript of Isabella Thorpe's fake intensity and exaggerated emoting? sooo boring! I would probably skim read that bit). What we get is 3rd person storytelling that feels immediate and fresh, studded with the character's actual quotes giving it a strong dramatic quality. So masterful!

@DaisyNinjaGirl 2 года назад

I watched this documentary once about Shakespeare once from an actor's perspective (it was called Muse of Fire, and jolly good fun), and one of the interviews they had was with Sir Ian McKellan in which he talks _at length_ about the iambic pentameter in one of the scenes from _Romeo and Juliet_, and he points out that all the writer's notes about what inflection to use are built into the iambic mete. So,"*wilt* thou be gone" is one way to say the line, but what our Will meant was "Wilt *thou* be gone" which means something slightly different.

@DavidBrowningBYD 2 года назад

The behavior you describe reminds of something I often saw when I was in the corporate world as a tech developer--project managers shopping among developers until they got an answer they wanted to hear. I love the way these videos give us analysis tools about commonly observed human behavior, both in real life and in literature. It makes me wish I were more of a literature scholar. As an aside, one of the pleasures of watching your videos is looking out the windows behind you. It is a pleasure in this case to hear the noises of what appear to be groundskeepers (surely there's a literary parallel!) and other environmental noises. This is not a complaint--I really do love it! As another aside, I never can get through Northanger Abbey, because I always want to punch a Thorpe--any Thorpe will do!--and I am a very non-violent person.

@londongael 2 года назад

I love the idea of a tech project manager making girlish shrieks and professing to be devastated at parting with you, whilst looking over your shoulder at the next prospect!

@DavidBrowningBYD 2 года назад

@@londongael They usually shrieked at the thought of working with me.

@londongael 2 года назад

@@DavidBrowningBYD 😀 Shrieks of delight, I'm sure!

@feybinder7398 Год назад

Austen's doing schoolgirl hyperbole in High Gothic parody voice is just delicious. :D

@themermaidstale5008 Год назад

An excellent analysis of a paragraph exposing Isabella Thorpe’s character. In the background I believe I heard the carpenter constructing the theatre for The Lovers’ Vows; Fanny Price’s uncle is going to be very displeased when he arrives home.

@MindiB 2 года назад

A third implication of the phrase “went on”: The brevity of that conclusion, after Isabella’s endless effusions, demonstrates Isabella’s histrionic hypocrisy. She is able to overcome her misery and despair over parting from Catherine with telling speed and ease!

@harpo345 2 года назад

Yes, I take it almost as her cue to leave the stage.

@marithusby8204 2 года назад

The first indirect characterization that comes to my mind is the self scentered Mary Musgroves letter to Ann in Bath (in Persuasion). Her constant whining and feeling of being ill used when everybody does not arrange their own life to suit HER need for attention and entertaining; her insisting on the truth beeing such as she previously arranged it to suits her claim on status for herself and everybody around her (capten Wentworth was never for Louisa but Henrietta, who then would drop charles Hayter); her initial shock of Mrs. Harvilles being able to be separated from her children, while Mary her self have no problem leaving her own for 4 or 6 weeks; and her unfeeling claim that captain Benwick had never been an admirerer of Ann. We also know from earlier in the novel, that Mary does not write to her other sister, Elisabeth. The whole letter is an example of Mary claiming Anns attention, support and sympathy. She knows that Elisabeth will never give her any.

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

Marit 4 or 6 weeks. Really? When?

@yapasti 7 месяцев назад

I love that Austen's dramatis personae talk so volubly through their actions (and the narrative observations of them), not just their words. Truly bears out the phrase, "Actions speak louder than words".

@cmickeylove 2 года назад

For me the best will always be Edmund in Mansfield Park. At the end of the book when he discovered that Fanny was the perfect woman for him because he made her that way. That always said something to me about him.

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

Edmond said that or Austen?

@hanabyu5508 Год назад

i was always thinking like “oh my god he basically groomed her” 😭😭😭

@DaisyNinjaGirl 2 года назад

I know this is unworthy of me, but I kept listening to the background tapping in this video wondering if the cutthroat world of Academia had moved on from scathing comments in the footnotes to a little light kidnapping... I loved this analysis, but I think my favourite Isabella description is when she goes on and on about the two insolent men who are watching her and Catherine, and how she won't allow them to change her mind about what she's doing - and then hurries down the road in case they get to far ahead and stop staring at her.

@nishita_desai 2 года назад

Thank you for these videos and your very insightful analyses. You made me reread Northanger Abbey (which I had relegated as the most boring) and I enjoyed it so much more this time. I hadn’t understood the accuracy of the description of General Tilney at all in my twenties, especially the hypersensitivity of his children to his moods. I suppose every decade of life brings new insights.

@electraruby4078 2 года назад

Thank you Octavia , you are a wonderful teacher. I love Austen's dry humour as in this extract from Emma ( I can't remember it exactly but it gives the gist ) " Mr Knightly tried hard not to smile which at the approach of Mrs Elton he managed with little effort".

@voluntaryismistheanswer 2 года назад

It's a gift to have these videos.

@83ajown669 Месяц назад

That part killed me when I read it 😂

@rachelwhite9503 Год назад

I’m reading Austen to my children and it’s so wonderful that I can explain aspects of the texts that I’ve learnt through your videos.

@MsJubjubbird 2 года назад

The beginning of Mansfield Park, when Mrs Norris has the idea for Fanny to come and stay at Mansfield Park, but then refuses to have her stay with her, but is still pleased with herself. This is clearly someone who changes the truth to suit their own agenda and is very good at appearing to have goodness but has none, as well as being highly interfering in other people's lives. I feel she only advocates for Fanny to visit because she's scared someone else might do something charitable for the family before she does and she'll get no credit.

@AW-uv3cb 2 года назад

I've just re-read Mansfield Park and Persuasions and thanks to your videos I think I'm much more aware of Austen's literary mastery, especially with her characterisation. You could practically take a dialogue out of her book, remove the names, and the readers would very probably still be able to tell who's saying what, just judging by the style and contents.

@nastyaissor7825 2 года назад

Isabela is a very fascinating character. I was waiting for your analysis!

@DrOctaviaCox 2 года назад

She's drawn so beautifully by Austen, I think. Such tight depictions of the character.

@nastyaissor7825 2 года назад

@@DrOctaviaCox I think of her as a very talented writer and clever observer of people. She had that something, like "sixth sense", that let her actually understand people.

@MoselleGreen 2 года назад

Isabella is one of my favorite Austen characters. She makes me laugh so much.

@catgladwell5684 2 года назад

Like Augusta Elton (Hawkins). You know you would dislike the person intensely, but revel gleefully at every stupid utterance.

@jennysedgley8284 2 года назад

Would you do an analysis of Mr Collins, from Pride & Prejudice? Another ghastly but also multi-faceted character

@louise-yo7kz 2 года назад

It's refreshing to have a description of many people that I've encountered akin to Isabella Thorpe 😁

@katdenning6535 2 года назад

It’s interesting to see how similar she is to her brother when he argues with James about the time as well. It’s very similar in its embellishment and obstinate style

@mollygardens6646 2 месяца назад

Thank you for explaining Jane Austen’s “magic” so well.

@jaimicottrill2831 2 года назад

Great talk! Also loved that you said “flimflam”, 😂.

@susanavenir 2 года назад

There came a rapping, a tapping, at the door. Quoth the Austen, read some more.

@persefoniajax 2 года назад

What perfect timing! I just finished reading Northanger Abbey a few days ago!

@LadyTroubadour 2 года назад

Another brilliant analysis! Also you're a hero for powering through whatever project was going on that was leading to all that hammering. I had to turn off the headphones and listen to the rest on my speakers so I can't imagine how you kept your cool and never lost your train of thought. Though perhaps it wasn't quite as distracting in person because acoustics are a funny thing, but I'm impressed anyway! Kudos!!!

@Travelling_with_my_dog 2 года назад

LOL, I thought someone was pounding on my door for a minute and was greatly relieved to discover that the noise was coming through my headphones (it's 10 pm & I live alone in a large city).

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

Deb, me too 😂

@lizziebkennedy7505 2 года назад

Absolutely loved this and especially all I learnt about the subtle ways to write character - Caroline Bingley and Mr Hurst are also fascinating from this point of view. But I'm not sure I can stretch to 'rounded'. I know we are not asking Austen to write social documentary as Disraeli or Dickens may have, or even Trollope, but Isabella isn't rounded. We don't know what drives her beyond the flaws of avarice, vacuity and ego, and we see a very slight insight into her family. There must be more to it than merely reducing her to her most base conduct. Why is she base? Could she have seen little else around her? Could she have been subject to instruction from maternal relatives about the importance of snaring a man of means, regardless of the cost of character and reputation? Is she just very naive? I think of Charlotte Lucas/Collins as rounded. She is straight up and honest about what she has done and why. She doesn't prevaricate, but nor does she scheme or manipulate. She tells Lizzy honestly how she has contrived her days in Kent to largely avoid Mr C. We understand her motivations in context. I never feel that about Isabella, although Carey Mulligan's interpretation in the mini series helped a lot. She really brought vulnerability and fear to the fore in Isabella. I think of Isabella as on the edge of risk and she doesn't seem to know how to steer. A lot of implicit pathos in that depiction. Thanks for a wonderful discussion.

@MsJubjubbird 2 года назад

Isabella is a gentlewoman but has no money. It makes her insecure as she's almost not in society. Add to that, you can see her mother does not discipline her children at all and indulges her son, who is then a bad influence on his sisters in the absence of a father. Mrs Thorpe also wants her children to marry into money because she can't provide for them. Isabella doesn't really know about reputation and character because she doesn't hear the word no and no one has taught her about propriety. It reminds me of a talk Davis Starkey gave on Katherine Howard; he referred to her days living at her grandmother's hoiuse in Horsham, where there was no discipline so, while she knew what the rules of propriety were, they could be thwarted with no consequences. Isabella is like Lydia, in that poor discipline has made her a reckless woman, but she also wants wealth, like Caroline, which gives her a sinister streak, unlike sunny Lydia, who doesn't have any particular malicious intentions. Also, being older, she has more awareness of what is impropriety, even if she doesn't take it seriously.

@lubnah3521 2 года назад

I think from Isabella's perspective, she had to resort to being base because she made an awful mistake. She thought that she got a rich husband in James. If he was rich, she would not have pursued Tilney. If she knew that he was rather poor, she would not have pursued him. She kind of got herself accidentally stuck with an unacceptable offer and had to find a way out. Simply breaking the engagement not only risked not finding anyone better, but would have hurt her reputation and marriage chances.

@gracetaylor7351 2 года назад

I see Jane Austen draw characters out like this in all six novels in someway. I did enjoy this video.thank you.❤️🙂

@sheilasingleton1019 2 года назад

Because of this and another video you'd released on Northanger Abbey, you've convinced me to reread it. I did not initially like the book, because I did not like any of the characters, including the heroine. However, you've given another perspective. and I will read it from that point-of-view. Anyway, thanks for your wonderful videos. I always look forward to viewing them.

@janetsmith8566 Год назад

Fab. Could listen all day.

@LindsaysWhimsies 2 года назад

You may have said this, but it also makes me giggle that judging by the length of time Isabella spends whining about the time, it seems that she likely could've enjoyed her friends' company for quite a while longer. But, of course, that's not -really- what she wants. And Austen shows us with such ease that mundane, common, kind of indescribable manipulative character that Isabella (and plenty a person even today) has. Truly incredible! Thanks for your fabulous analysis.

@LindsaysWhimsies 2 года назад

And you absolutely did say this in the last few minutes, hah. This is what happens when you're too quick to throw in your own views before finishing the video!

@girasoln 2 года назад

The first couple of knocks I thought it was in my door, so I pause de the video to open it😅I didn't see anyone. So I resume the vid, and I laughed out loud, it was the vid. Lovely video when I first read the book I didn't notice the nuances of her character, I just thought how awful she sounded, thanks for sharing another thoughts on literature ❤️

@JAPPoPLOPP 2 года назад

This! This is why I love reading Austen so much!

@Nickiechell 2 года назад

Please do full audiobooks of Austen works ! It would be amazing, astounding, awesome!

@DrOctaviaCox 2 года назад

Do leave any of your own examples of Jane Austen’s light “touches” that draw character without directly describing it.

@londongael 2 года назад

It's interesting that the only other Austen character I can think of, who utterly refuses to accept mundane, easily proved fact when it does not suit her, is Mary Crawford - "do not attack me with your watch!" She is more self-aware than Isabella, and has obviously decided that it's "cute" to behave like this, but it would be extremely tiresome in real life. The pinnacle of Austen's use of this technique is, for me, the brilliant indirect rendition of Mrs Elton's "conversation" while strawberry picking at Donwell. It's too long to quote, but completely captures not only Mrs Elton's character (both bossy and commonplace), but the actual experience of strawberry picking as a kind of fake pastoral leisure activity, and finding that it's actually hard work on a boiling hot day. As here, the compression heightens the absurdity, but so far has Austen advanced this technique, which she appears to have pretty much invented, in the later novel, that there is no authorial voice at all - it's all in the edit. Austen's meticulous editing sometimes brings her prose close to poetry. Austen draws us in to the joke by mimicking the style of her target, and trusting that the reader has heard that brand of nonsense before, and will recognise it. It's just like when a friend does a wickedly accurate impression of someone you both know. It's *because* she doesn't give their every word that we feel that her grotesques are real people, and that we know people just like them.

@Ailorn 2 года назад

I thought you would use the excerpt where Isabella was denying interest in handsome young men by chasing after them right before they run into the brothers.

@annavonbuchenroder5247 2 года назад

I always loved the little passage in Persuasion soon after Anne arrived to stay with her sister Mary. The part where Mary had gone out the night before and felt too ill the next morning, and was lying on the sofa (hungover?) and couldn't get up until midday...

@seto749 2 года назад

Something similar but done entirely in conversation might be how we learn just what sentiments lie behind Elizabeth Elliot's "best love" she asks Anne to convey to Lady Russell - after asking Anne to return a book Lady Russell loaned her and pretend that she'd read it, going on to complain of Lady Russell's boring one with all the new publications, then criticizing Lady Russell's dress, air and posture at the concert before concluding, "My best love, of course."

@rufescens 2 года назад

I don't know if this counts, but I really like the moment in Pride and Prejudice when Darcy and Wickham come across each other in Meryton. Austen describes Lizzy as noticing that one's face turned red, and the other's white. It took me many readings of Pride and Prejudice to notice the colors and realize that their choice wasn't arbitrary. Red suggests anger, and white suggests turning pale, as if caught doing something shameful. Maybe this isn't so much about character, but Jane Austen was giving us a subtle clue that Darcy had been wronged, and Wickham guilty of something, before we knew anything of their story, either in Wickham's misleading version or Darcy's clarifying one.

@pamallama 2 года назад

I always binge watch your videos after I finish one of these novels! Thank you!

@KierTheScrivener 2 года назад

I love your analysis so much!

@kathyroddy Год назад

Man, I would pay cash money to be a fly on the wall for a conversation among Mrs. Palmer, Mrs. Elton, and Mr. Collins!

@sarahmwalsh 2 года назад

The mention of the watch reminds me of Mary Crawford and Edmund Bertram's flirtation as they talk about the amount of time they have been walking through the grove at Sotherton: "Do not attack me with watches! I say we have walked a mile!" (I think I'm quoting that correctly) It's funny that Isabella would only believe James Morland's watch, but Mary would not believe Edmund's!

@dottiewi661 2 года назад

Yes! And her disbelief in his argument relating to walking distance and speed (do you think, we walked 5 miles an hour? (Or something like that) and her protesting against his reasonable argument) and then people comparing Lizzy with Mary Crawford, Lizzy would never have been so unreasonable… even if they share a rather bright and quirky character.

@bakedandsalty9234 2 года назад

Great video, as always! Thank you :)

@TVandManga 2 года назад

Another brilliant video!

@tammygant4216 2 года назад

Your analysis always deepens my appreciation of Austen so so much. Jane Eyre too. I just re-read the latter and felt so much more drawn into the world than I already had been. Thank you much much!

@kkay3784 2 года назад

I always look forward to a new video!

@jennifox287 2 года назад

well done in getting through this close reading with the hammering going on in the background :)

@rmarkread3750 2 года назад

Thank you for this delightful examination of Jane Austen's artistry and the hilarious/scary character Isabella Thorpe. I am also grateful to hear a published, positive, contemporary review of Jane Austen's work. Thank you for the enlightenment!

@somewhereinoregon541 2 года назад

Thanks so much, this was very cool!

@fitlikethezeitgeist6614 2 года назад

Oh, thank you. Isabella is quite a pet of mine. On a little list with Undine Spragg.

@prof.cecilycogsworth3204 2 года назад

The card game in Mansfield Park is another such reveal of character, that of Mary Crawford.

@londongael 2 года назад

Bit of a revealer all round - Lady B "I am not to see my cards and Mr Crawford does everything", Fanny trying to lose to William...

@tiffanytaylor5295 2 года назад

I love listing to Dr. Cox at work

@lastchancemonicam3948 2 года назад

I've often port Isabella Thorpe's responses and attitude down to teenage hormones. Cathy Moreland was only eighteen, and she was highly imaginative. She was prone to fits of fancy and the exaggerated behavior that goes with them. IMHO, Isabella Thorpe either has histrionic personality disorder or she's experiencing teenage hormones where everything is exaggerated. It's the physical embodiment of how Cathy Moreland sees the world. That's why the break up, towards the end of the book, is so important. Cathy is growing up, but Isabella must go for that to happen.

@wintertoddler5952 Год назад

This is my second time watching this video, as I'm re-reading Northanger Abbey prior to a birthday trip to Bath. In her next meeting with Catherine, she speaks to her for only minutes after declaring how much she has to convey, then turns all her attention to James. I love that she fails to manipulate Catherine into suggesting James and Isabella should be a couple 😁

@cmlspencer273 2 года назад

Just caught up with some videos... I enjoyed very much, as always but slightly distracted by the knocking 😂

@tedreilly3352 2 года назад

I enjoyed the presnetation. Young Jane's claws were quite sharp! As a young man I endured a number of erudite lectures on Jane Austen, especially P&P, all of which made me remember those radio serials such as 'Portia Faces Life' & 'Blue Hills'. Austen's cattiness was neglected & the serials dripped sincerity. But, I must say that NA is just the right novel for a Year 12 (matriculation) lass to be reading for Literature: it has style, is quite funny, poses a range of moral dilemmas all of which are nicely solved & Catherine is an attractive heroine with whom they could identify. The boys though, would be hard pressed to find a hero in Henry or any of that effete lot & one would need to find a counterbalance, maybe Charles Ryder in 'Brideshead Revisited' or Thomas Fowler in 'The Quiet American' to generate a discussion about responsibilities & realities of love.

@sueannevangalen5186 2 года назад

Jane Austen was the queen of the third person omniscient point of view.

@mariedouce7636 2 года назад

Thanks!

@yezdnil 2 года назад

Isabella reminds me of Lucy Steele, but without the cleverness. I've always had a teensy-weensy drop of sympathy for both. All they have are their looks and perceived seductiveness to naive young men. If they were heiresses their treatment and perception by others would be very different. Look at Anne De Bourgh and Miss Carteret. Not the narrative voice, of course, but Georgian/Regency society. I love how Austen takes a particluar character then tweaks it: Elizabeth Bennet and Mary Crawford, Isabella and Lucy, Jane Bennet and Anne Elliot. Austen must have had great joy doing that!

@angelalewis3645 2 года назад

Love love love!

@j.m.ney-grimm3029 2 года назад

I always thought that Isabella’s immediate and dramatic conversion to believing the time via James Morland's watch, embedded as it is in this display of her hypocrisy, served as further evidence that her vaunted affection for James was as false as everything else about her.

@GradKat 8 месяцев назад

James Morland and Isabella weren’t engaged at that point, but she is hoping he will propose, hence her excessive reaction to the time on his watch, as she’s deliberately playing up to him.

@giuliaschabbach 2 года назад

Great video! What you said about how Austen creates individual idiolects for her characters reminded me of Bettina Fischer-Starcke's work where she uses corpus linguistics to analyse the language of Austen in Northanger Abbey. Have you read it?

@EdenYell 2 года назад

Isabella Thorpe is my teenager

@KSMP 2 года назад

This is exactly why I love Austen so so much.

@rebeccaday8612 2 года назад

The tricolon reminded me of Jackie Chiles in 'Seinfeld' :)

@edsepe2258 2 года назад

Yes, finally

@crystalcharee57 2 года назад

Very informative video. :) Were you eventually able to answer the door?

@marithusby8204 2 года назад

Also, given all the time Isabella has, to spend on this performance, it would have been more than enough to "attend her friend into the house".

@margo3367 2 года назад

Austen knows people, she’s street smart. She does not suffer fools although there’s not a hint of mean spiritedness in her novels. It’s as Mr. Bennet said, “For what do we live, to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn.”

@janiecehamblen933 2 месяца назад

I was hoping you were going into more of what happened with the Col. And Isabella

@TTeamFan 2 года назад

I think everyone knows a "Miss Bates" from Emma...

@rufescens 2 года назад

I kind of disagree that Austen "gives no definition" of Isabella Thorpe. She doesn't do so immediately, and she only does so through Catherine, when Catherine pronounces her "a vain coquette" upon learning her true character while in Northanger Abbey.

@mojosbigsticks Год назад

All I can hear is Imelda Staunton being fussily incapable of belief, and Hugh Laurie's dryly exasperated response of 'Try'.

@janettedargy7941 8 месяцев назад

😂

@AlGaecia 2 года назад

Love your videos, but can you help me understand what allows a novel to be defined as "classical?" Classical studies refers to history and literature related to the Greek and Roman Hellenistic culture during a specific period of time, which, of course, does not include, for example, Regency era novels. Our definition of the novel actually post-dates the period of time Classics majors study. So is the description of a novel as "classical" akin to other cultures striving to be Greek/Hellenistic? Or is it an actual literary term that happens to coincide with an area of study that includes literature? Thanks!

@RobynLeigh111 2 года назад

7:55 The Paragraph

@Khatoon170 2 года назад

How are you doing dr octavia happy mother day to yours and ours and all mothers young or old alive or dead we celebrate mother day in Arabic countries as well as you in England on March thank you for your wonderful cultural channel we appreciate your great efforts as foreigners subscribers as overseas students and literature lovers too as always iam gathering main information about famous topics you mentioned briefly here it’s the novel northanger abbey by Jane Austen is first novel published in year 1818 its tells story of Catherine Marland her dangerous sweet nature innocence sometimes self delusion Jane Austen described castles locked rooms mysterious chests tyrannical fathers the name northanger abbey means in English from six nations championships in the end of story few months Eleanor marries weathly important man which puts general in good mood he told true nature of morland financial situation which moderate he gives his consent novel Ends with marriage of Henry and Catherine it’s easiest novel to read