- So do you like Northanger Abbey?
Well, if you do, here's a question for you.
If you're young Catherine Morland,
headed off to bath.
And there you meet Henry Tilney at a ball.
And he's just so cute, and you want him to like you.
How do you get him to like you?
Seriously. How do you attract Henry Tilney?
That is what we're going to be going into
here in this video.
Two important factors at play in Northanger Abbey
that benefits Catherine and Henry's relationship.
My name is Ellie Dashwood and this is my channel,
where we talk about history and literature.
If you like either of those things, please subscribe.
So, Henry and Catherine
have a very interesting relationship,
and of course there's many different factors
that attract Henry to Catherine,
like her good heart.
But, there's two very important ones
that Jane Austen goes into detail about.
And we're going to be looking at those.
One, is the fact that Catherine took the initiative.
She liked him first, and that inspired
this concept of gratitude.
So, we're also going to be going into Henry's gratitude.
Towards the end of the book,
when Henry is making his proposals to Catherine,
the narrator tells us this,
"Henry was now sincerely attached to her,
"though he felt and delighted
"in all the excellencies of her character
"and truly loved her society,
"I must confess that his affection originated
"in nothing better than gratitude.
"Or, in other words,
"that a persuasion of her partiality for him
"had been the only cause of giving her a serious thought.
"It is a new circumstance in romance, I acknowledge,
"and dreadfully derogatory of a heroine's dignity;
"but if it be as new and common life,
"the credit of a wild imagination
"will at least be all my own."
So, in this quote we see Jane Austen telling us
that he started liking her, because she liked him.
And, of course, the part where she goes on
to talk about how this may be a new concept in books,
but it happens in real life,
is of course, part of her commentary
on other novels at the time.
Because you know, in other novels,
this is how men fall in love.
They see the girl for the very first time,
and they're like,
how will I ever live without her?
And that was not how it worked
with Henry and Catherine.
How it worked with Henry and Catherine was,
they danced, and she was like, oh he's so cute.
And he's like, hey, she likes me.
Maybe I should like her back.
And that is this concept of gratitude.
So, what does gratitude have to do with someone liking you?
And this is an interesting concept
that's crossed to Jane Austen's novels,
which is that one person starts liking the other person
and the person that's liked is like,
wow, the person likes me.
I appreciate this. It makes me like them too.
And that is what Jane Austen is calling gratitude.
It's also what modern psychologists call reciprocal liking,
or this idea that we like people who like us.
And then when they do something nice for us,
we want to do something nice back to them,
and then it eventually builds this relationship.
But, it's all built on us initially being like,
wow, this person likes me,
I'm going to like them back.
So now that we understand the concept,
let's look at it in Pride and Prejudice really quick.
Because it has a story arc of its own.
Elizabeth's gratitude toward Darcy for him liking her.
So of course,
the first time that Elizabeth becomes aware
of the fact that Darcy likes her,
is when he proposes marriage at Rosings.
And this is her response to him.
She says,
"In such cases as this, it is,
"I believe, the established mode
"to express a sense of obligation
"for the sentiments avowed, however
"unequally they may be returned.
"It is natural that obligation should be felt,
"and if I could feel gratitude, I would now thank you.
"But I cannot.
"I have never desired your good opinion,
"and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly."
So here she's saying,
yeah, I understand the fact that you like me
should be inspiring in me these feelings
of like, oh wow, he likes me.
I'm so grateful. But it's not happening.
Cause I think you're a jerk.
Yep. That's Elizabeth's response to this marriage proposal.
And what's interesting is how she connects this idea
of gratitude to this duty, or this obligation.
And it really was seen as sort of this natural obligation,
gratitude being highly talked about
in the religious scene at the time,
as something that she should be feeling for this.
But she doesn't, because again,
she thinks he's a jerk.
Okay. So he proposes.
No gratitude's happening with Elizabeth.
Guys, my hair just fell out of its been its bun.
So now we're stuck with this ponytail thing.
Anyway, back to the story arc of Elizabeth's gratitude.
So basically, let's now fast forward.
She gets that letter from Darcy,
she's undeceived about his character.
She goes on a trip, she's visiting his house.
She's like, wow, his house is fancy.
And then now she's in the art gallery,
standing in front of a portrait of him.
And this is what the book says.
"Every idea that had been brought forward
"by the housekeeper was favorable to his character,
"and as she stood before the canvas
"on which he was represented
"and fixed his eyes upon herself,
"she thought of his regard with a deeper sentiment
"of gratitude than it had ever raised before;
"she remembered its warmth
"and softened its impropriety of expression."
That's right.
Over time, this gratitude has been building up in her.
And as she learns more
about his great character, she's like,
wow, this guy liked me, that's like so cool.
I have like so much gratitude.
So really, her heart is already being prepared
for what happens next, which is running into him
and him being nice to her.
And he's nice to her aunt and uncle.
Elizabeth's gratitude is ready to take further steps.
And this is how it describes her feelings about him now.
"But above all, above respect and esteem,
"there was a motive within her of goodwill
"which could not be overlooked.
"It was gratitude;
"gratitude, not merely for having once loved her,
"but for loving her still well enough
"to forgive all the petulance and acrimony
"of her manner in rejecting him,
"and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection."
Yep. Her heart is totally starting to like this guy now.
One of the main reasons, that gratitude.
For the fact that he liked her,
and he's forgiving her, all of this stuff.
Yeah.
Then it continues,
"If gratitude and esteem are good
"foundations of affection,
"Elizabeth's change of sentiment
"will be neither improbable nor faulty."
Right? Gratitude plus esteem.
Good foundation of a relationship there.
So it is interesting how Elizabeth's gratitude
has this complete story arc of its own,
where its non-existence to where it starts to grow,
to where it's completely confirmed.
And then it's pretty much the basis
of her romantic affection for Mr. Darcy.
And Jane Austen gives gratitude
a lot of power throughout her works.
In fact, in Persuasion,
when Captain Benwick gets engaged to Louisa Musgrove,
Captain Wentworth has this to say,
"I confess that I do think there is a disparity,
"too great a disparity,
"and in a point no less essential than mind.
"I regard Louisa Musgrove as a very amiable,
"sweet-tempered girl,
"and not deficient in understanding,
"but Benwick is something more.
"He's a clever man, a reading man;
"and I confess that I do consider him attaching himself
"to her with some surprise.
"Had it been the effect of gratitude,
"had he learnt to love her,
"because he believed her to be preferring him,
"it would have been another thing.
"But I have no reason to suppose it so.
"It seems, on the contrary,
"to have been a perfectly spontaneous,
"untaught feeling on his side, and this surprises me."
So it's very interesting.
Here we have gratitude being connected
with words like learnt and taught,
almost as if somebody liking you
can essentially teach you to like them back.
Which again, sort of goes back to this concept
of reciprocal liking.
This is just showing what strength
Jane Austen's giving to this concept of gratitude.
What's really interesting about gratitude
in Jane Austen's works is it can go both ways.
A man can inspire it in a woman,
a woman can inspire it in a man.
And that's super equalizing in some ways.
The fact that Catherine is the one
that inspires gratitude in Henry is a big deal,
because the person who inspires gratitude
is seen as in the more powerful position.
And we see that talked about in Emma.
Mr. Weston is hitting on Miss Taylor, Emma's Governess.
It says this,
"It is a great deal better to choose than to be chosen,
"to excite gratitude than to feel it."
So, here we see it's better to be the one
who chooses, and the one who likes first.
Because then you're on the receiving end of this gratitude.
And the fact that it is Catherine
who's initiating that in the Catherine-Henry relationship,
it was a very equalizing
for the power balance between the sexes here.
So, exactly how does Catherine do this, though?
And the answer is, she consistently shows
that she likes Henry throughout the book,
which is very interesting for the time too.
Because she's taking that initiative.
In fact, let's look at a scene
on the night that Henry and Catherine meet.
She is already liking him
from that very first ball that she's at.
Here is what it says,
"They danced again;
"and when the assembly closed, parted,
"on the lady's side at least, with a strong inclination
"for continuing the acquaintance.
"Whether she thought of him so much,
"while she drank her warm wine and water,
"and prepared herself for bed,
"as to dream of him when there, cannot be ascertained;
"but I hope it was no more than a slight slumber,
'or a morning doze at most; for if it be true,
'as a celebrated writer has maintained,
'that no young lady can be justified
'in falling in love before the gentleman's love is declared,
'it must be very improper
"that a young lady should dream
"of a gentleman before the gentleman
"is first known to have dreamt of her."
So, here we see the end of the ball,
and Catherine definitely wants to see him again.
In fact, she might go home and dream about him.
If that was proper.
So, what's interesting about this celebrated writer
she mentions is the fact that she footnotes it.
She tells us exactly who it is,
claiming that a young woman cannot be in love first.
And that person is Samuel Richardson, the author of Pamela.
He wrote an article for this periodical
in the 1750s called The Rambler.
And I looked up said article and read it.
And I'm about to tell you its brilliant contents.
Basically, Samuel Richardson is like,
I'm an old man now, but I'm going to tell you
that back in my day, women were actually women.
They weren't these cheap girls out there,
going to public balls like they are now.
They're not worth marrying these days.
Yep. That's essentially what the article says.
In fact, he's like,
back in my day, the only time you could see
a beautiful woman that was a stranger to you was at church.
So guess what, guys went to church back then.
Now you can just see women at public assemblies,
like the balls Catherine attends in Northanger Abbey.
You can just see them anywhere. They're so cheap.
Why would you marry them?
But amidst his description of what women were like
back in the day when they were women,
he says that,
"That a young lady should be in love,
"and the love of the young gentlemen undeclared
"is a heterodoxy which prudence,
"and even policy, must not allow."
Right?
It is insane to think that a young lady
could be in love first.
Policy must not allow this.
Women need to be women again, and only go to church.
In fact, I love the part of the rant
when he's talking about only seeing beautiful women
in church, when he's like,
"With what ardor have I seen watched
"for the rising of a kneeling beauty;
"and what additional charms as devotion
"given to her recommunicated features?"
Right?
He's like, all the guys were checking her out,
while she was taking communion.
That's how it should be.
So, according to Samuel Richardson,
Catherine's just doing everything wrong.
She's going to public assemblies and balls,
that make her cheap and unmarriable.
And she's liking Henry first,
which is just completely unacceptable,
according to Samuel Richardson.
And after that first meeting,
Catherine's behavior always shows Henry that she likes him.
Of course, she always does this
very unknowingly to herself.
For example, when she has a conversation with his sister,
this is how it ends,
"This civility was duly returned; and they parted.
"On Ms. Tilney side with some knowledge
"of her new acquaintance's feelings,
"and on Catherine's without having
"the smallest consciousness of having explained them."
That's right.
Catherine just goes through her life, liking Henry,
not realizing that everybody knows that she likes Henry.
But, it is her liking him that inspires him liking her.
And I think it's important to note that,
yes, Henry's father,
General Tilney is eventually like,
hey son, you better catch this girl,
cause I think she has money.
But Henry is already showing signs
that he likes Catherine before that happens.
For example, in that dramatic scene,
where Catherine wants to go
on a walk with Henry and Eleanor,
but then Mr. Thorpe pretty much kidnaps her
in the carriage and prevents her from going on that walk.
Henry gets super sore about it,
way more so than his sister.
Yeah.
And Catherine even notes this,
and he gets kind of embarrassed about that fact.
But, that is a sign that he's already
developing those feelings and that preference for Catherine,
before his father steps in
to make him take it to the next level.
And I think that's important to note.
Because sometimes people can be like,
oh, well he just liked her
because his dad told him to.
But there were already signs he was going that direction,
and also it connects back to this concept
of gratitude that Jane Austen identified
as the source of his romantic intentions towards her.
So, those are two important factors
at play in Northanger Abbey,
of how Catherine attracts Henry Tilney.
She liked him first,
despite drawing the ire of Samuel Richardson.
Yep. That is how Catherine catches Henry.
We can all take great lessons from her.
Anyway, thanks so much for watching,
and keep having an awesome day, cause you're awesome.
Bye!
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