Northanger Abbey

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What kind of novels is Jane Austen known for? Why do critics refer to her as a “social realist” or a “domestic realist”? What is her significance to literary history?

Teaching Suggestion: Because many of Austen’s novels have been repeatedly used as the basis for films, even students with relatively little knowledge of Austen are likely to have at least heard of her and may have even formed opinions about her work. This question will allow you to distinguish between a glancing familiarity and the kind of deeper knowledge that will help students appreciate a novel like Northanger Abbey. Once you have assessed students’ prior understanding, you can use the resources listed below to fill in any gaps in their knowledge. Students interested in more in-depth exploration of Jane Austen and her world might be encouraged to check out the excellent scholarly resources available from this site, maintained by the Jane Austen Society of North America.

• This 12-minute video from TED-X explains Austen’s contribution to literature and continuing relevance.
• This 5-minute video from TED-Ed explores Austen’s wit and social criticism.
• This article from Oxford professor Helena Kelly attempts to correct misperceptions of Austen’s life and legacy.
• This article from JSTOR Daily examines the genius of Austen’s language.

2. During what time period were Gothic romances most popular? What are some of the common elements found in Gothic romance? How do you imagine a social realist like Jane Austen would respond to the Gothic romance?

Teaching Suggestion: Northanger Abbey functions as a parody of Gothic romance. A basic understanding of this genre will deepen students’ understanding of Austen’s goals in writing the novel and help them connect with its wit. The first two resources below are introductions to Gothic Romanticism; if students have little knowledge about the genre, you might offer these resources before they attempt the prompt. The final question in this prompt lends itself particularly well to class discussion, as students may have differing perspectives on how Austen might react to Gothic romance.

• This 1-minute video clip from the Charlie Rose show offers a succinct explanation of the Gothic romance genre.
• This literary guide from the Toledo Library clearly lays out the conventions of the genre.
• This journal article from The Sewanee Review offers a nuanced argument about the relationship between Realism and Romanticism. (Teacher appropriate; not student-facing due to length and complexity.)

Short Activity

Use this literary guide to create your own Gothic romance setting and main characters. Write a few sentences about your setting, your hero, your heroine, and your secondary love interest. Then, give your Gothic romance an appropriate title. The tone of your response is entirely up to you—be as sincere or as satirical as you wish, as long as you are faithful to the conventions of this genre.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity is intended as a fun follow-up to learning about Gothic romance and as a way to cement students’ understanding by putting it into practice. The literary guide linked here is the same one listed in the Gothic romance Short Answer prompt, above—if students have already read this guide while working on the prompt, there is no need to allot any additional reading time for the literary guide during this activity.

• After completing this activity, students might enjoy playing with this Gothic trope generator or finding a title using this Gothic title generator.
• You might combine this activity with some practice using AI to generate appropriate images by asking students to use a site like this one at Canva to create a book cover for their Gothic romance.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Are you more of a Realist or a Romantic? What draws you to this worldview? What implications does this have for the kinds of books, movies, and other media that you enjoy? Can you appreciate effective satire, even when it is aimed at something you enjoy?

Teaching Suggestion: Although Austen’s novel pokes fun at Gothic Romanticism, students should be aware that there is no reason they cannot fully enjoy Romanticism, Realism, or both, depending on their own preferences. The final question in this prompt, of course, is intended to generate buy-in from students who ordinarily enjoy things like Gothic Romanticism. It is also an opportunity to offer some instructor praise for the personal qualities it takes to appreciate satire aimed at beloved targets.