The paradox of the "proper lady": Transforming gothic mystery into domestic terror

Austen’s Northanger Abbey works within the discourse to question its patriarchal authority, as well as to expose the paradox of societal expectations for a woman to become a “proper lady”. Using the universality of Catherine Morland, Austen presents her allegorically as an “everywoman” to critique English class culture and point out ways in which conventions of marriage may be problematic for a female with a voice. The tension between Austen’s narrator and Catherine’s voice helps to reveal the perversity boiling underneath the surface of polite society. Using the gothic as parody allows Catherine to progress through her personal journey to question societal conventions, before eventually submitting to the “detestable” laundry lists that await her in as she enters her own domestic terror of “perfect bliss”.