Northanger Abbey, chapter 12: Speak Now
Back when I was talking about the introduction of characters in Pride and Prejudice , I said that Mrs. Bennet—despite being an annoying character—was fascinating because she seemed to be in a hurry to get the story started. Which is really fun! Here, we’ve arrived at something similar, where Catherine Morland takes an active role in her own story: she sets out to apologize to Eleanor Tilney. After seeking out the Tilneys’ address from the Pump-room master, she sets out to pay a visit, avoiding crossing paths with “her beloved Isabella and her dear family.” (HAH.) A somewhat confused butler tells her that Eleanor just left—and a devastated Cat sees for herself Miss Tilney exiting the building with her father. Cat thinks Eleanor deliberately stood her up eye-for-an-eye style. But “remember[ing] her own ignorance,” Cat admits that she just doesn’t know “to what rigors of rudeness in return it might justly make her amenable.” That evening, Cat is in better spirits when she goes to see a p...
