Female Heroine?

“She had a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without colour, dark lank hair, and strong features;-so much for her person;-and not less unpropitious for heroism” (13)

With this description, Jane Austen offers the reader an image of a very casual female figure who finds herself quite far from that of a Gothic heroine. However, the latter is presented as a goal that Catherine Morland wants to attain. This character wants to be modelled on the heroines that are included on the Gothic literature she is reading: “from fifteen to seventeen she was training for a heroine …” (15)

A process of maturity can be noticed on her when she stays at Bath. Her intrusion within society makes her being far from innocence, she is stepping into adulthood. It is a process of identifying herself as part of society. She starts facing her situations even though she does not show her emotions. That is completely opposite to the idea of a gothic figure.

Since Austen’s work is a parody of the Gothic, she draws the image of an active woman who is reacting against any circumstance and not the passive female character that is developed by the influence of typical Gothic incidents in which she is involved.

Catherine is constantly reading Gothic fiction and therefore she wants to enjoy gothic adventures but she hardly finds them. She fulfils her enthusiasm when she enters the Gothic inspired abbey. However, she fails at finding any mysterious aspect. Being that failure a useful lesson for her to be learnt: using reason before giving free use to imagination.

Widmark, Elisabeth. "Catherine Morland in Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, an unlikely Gothic heroine".University of Gothenburg, June 2011.

Rewarded for virtue or intelligence?

Pamela and Shamela are two completely opposite characters who can be analysed from the point of view of the role they play in those two different works which received the same name of these two main protagonists.

From one stand point, Richardson’s Pamela is shaped as a very virtuous woman who has to overcome a great number of difficulties. She is also portrayed as a very weak character who does not have the strength to face all those situations. However, Richardson guides the reading with a very optimistic approach so that Pamela gets what she wanted even though she can be understood as a victim who does not fight for her rights. Pamela’s positive attitude towards the apparently impossible marriage is what makes her end up by marrying a man who was never thought as someone that she could reach.

From another stand point, Henry Fielding’s Shamela is more about pretending to be that virtuous woman. She is the one who chooses her opportunities and she does not wait for everything to come she simply acts in the way she wishes without caring about the implications. There are no characters that cannot be reached but more down-to-earth ones. Their goal is always achieved but this time it is by means of overcoming some troubles and accepting those bad sides of real life.

To tie this up, it can be observed in these two different works that they both get a reward, that of happiness, even though they were facing their puzzling circumstances from very divergent eyes.  

 

Withington, Keri. "Literary analysis: Virtue and vice in Pamela vs.Shamela, by Henry Fielding.”

physical and mental deterioration

There are some noticeable aspects in Gulliver’s Travels that can be easily recognised by the reader. One of the most remarkable one is the expression of physical and moral corruption of mankind.

This corruption is spread among several fields such as society or politics. In fact, every single place in the book is dealing with different ways of being corrupted under the influence of those scopes.

There is an important figure in the text and it is that of the master. It is represented as an idealized image of a ruler who wants to have submissive people surrounding him in order to impose his authority. This idealisation is created by the ‘slave’ himself. However, since the leader does not use his rationality all his attempts fail. Jonathan Swift is reflecting this image on that of English politicians.

As part of this critic, Swift creates an island above earth in order to express the naivety of those people who want to make up an image of themselves that they can never reach. And also of those who let themselves be corrupted by their political leaders or the society itself. In addition, it can be remarked that humankind is deformed by his own vices.

 Therefore, it can be guessed that the author chooses intellect over the whole savagery and deterioration to which human kind is exposed.

Guthrie, Ben. Jonathan Swift’s Use of Satire in Gulliver’s Travels

Physical and Mental Size

   Lilliputian’s physical appearance is not just a symbol of pettiness but of emptiness. They are no more than six inches tall and that represents not only their height but the small mind they have and so the few knowledge they can acquire.

        A comparison between Gulliver’s height and the Lilliputians’ is established all the way through in the first book, but not just from a physical perspective but from a psychological one. That is to say, while the reader can see Gulliver as a very active and voluntary character, the Lilliputians are seen as hypocrite people and as human beings with malice. It is easily observed when they attacked Gulliver with arrows at first sight. However, Gulliver helps them in their war with the Blefuscudians by landing all their boats and forcing them to surrender. The Lilliputians are tiny compared to Gulliver and that is what makes the latter more capable than the former. Gulliver asserts that they were intelligent once and as a matter of fact they speak quite a number of languages, but their current ignorance leads them to be corrupt. Therefore, they are no longer wise people. Together with the war scene there are several situations in which Gulliver’s effort on being a powerful and useful character is represented. For instance, when Gulliver is asked to get rid of his belongings, the Lilliputians’ ignorance is clearly observed. The do not know what a watch is and they keep looking at it wondering how was it made and what is it used for. Finally, another example is how the effort that the Lilliputians do to extinguish the empress’ apartment fire is vanished after being blown out by merely Gulliver’s urination.

      With these opposite behaviors Gulliver wants to contrast the non-effectiveness of many government officers, represented by the Lilliputians, with a humble position of a perfect ruler on behalf of Gulliver in this narrative.

Jan, K.M. Perspectives on Gulliver’s Travels. Atlantis Publishers and Distributors, 2004.