Northanger Abbey, chapter 28: The Departed
Because this wouldn’t be a Jane Austen book without a heavy dose of irony, this chapter begins in the most positive way imaginable: General Tilney has gone to London, which improves the overall mood of the household and finally allows Eleanor to be her normal self. Cat is now free from both her preconceived notions about the fanciful dangers of an abbey and “the restraint which the general’s presence had imposed.” She’s so happy that, as a rational creature, she figures she must prepare herself for when it has to end. But since her parents aren’t demanding for her to come home and Eleanor insists she isn’t overstaying her welcome, Cat decides to stick around. This helps convince her “that Henry love[s] her, and … that his father and sister [love] and even [wish] her to belong to them.”
Cozy picture, right? Not for long.
During Henry’s absence (hey, he’s got responsibilities!), there’s a visitor who Cat assumes to be Captain Tilney. She waits in her room to be invited down to meet him, but instead she’s greeted by a reticent Eleanor, whose “cheeks [are] pale, and her manner greatly agitated.” After Cat guesses that she heard some bad news from Woodston, Eleanor breaks it to her: it seems that General Tilney “has recollected an engagement that takes our whole family away on Monday.” Cat, understanding, suggests that Eleanor come visit her when they’re done with this visit. Then Eleanor makes it clear that her father has ordered Cat to be returned home immediately, “and no servant will be offered you.”
So … this is bad. Even today, without the additional context of How Things Were Done, banishing your daughter’s new best friend from your home on the flimsiest of pretexts is pretty horrible. Eleanor doesn’t even try to excuse her father, who’s in a state of absolute fury—though she assures Cat that she can’t possibly be the reason why. Both girls are equally powerless here: Cat is going to be on her own for the journey home, and Eleanor can’t counteract her father’s edict that Cat not be sent home with a servant for protection.
Cat does her part to get ready to leave, although she can’t hide her distress from Eleanor entirely. She’s being separated from the entire Tilney family “by such a man as General Tilney, so polite, so well bred, and heretofore so particularly fond of her! It was as incomprehensible as it was mortifying and grievous.” (Perhaps an explanation is forthcoming?) That night, she experiences an entirely different type of anxiety than the one she felt during her first. During breakfast, she reflects on a previous morning when Henry was at the table, behaving like an absolute gentleman towards her.
Oh, Henry! This sudden banishment ruins her chances with Henry! Why does this remind me of Romeo & Juliet? Maybe because I keep using words like “banishment.”
But it’s not me who’s ramping up the melodrama here—neither is it Cat nor Eleanor. Well, okay, the part where Eleanor suggests that when Cat writes to her and addresses it to a different name and address does seem extreme. But that’s only because General Tilney, an extreme personality with extreme standards, is oppressing Eleanor’s spirit (and friendships) with his demands.
One small silver lining to this episode is how Cat feels Eleanor’s pain, and is just as upset at the idea of leaving her as she is at the idea of never seeing Henry again. In their final moment, “with quivering lips [Catherine] just made it intelligible that she left ‘her kind remembrance for her absent friend’ [Henry].” And then she rushes into the chaise, unable to keep it in, and thus ends her time at Northanger Abbey.
This couldn’t possibly be wrapped up neatly in the next three chapters, COULD IT?
The Shapard Shelf: So here’s that historical context that makes all this worse. “Ladies were never supposed to travel alone, both for their general safety and to guard against any sexual impropriety or suggestion thereof,” Shapard says of this transgression. Readers of Pride & Prejudice will remember Lady Catherine’s snobby comment about a male servant being available for Elizabeth’s journey home. It would be “expect[ed]” for the Tilneys to provide Cat “the courtesy of having a servant accompany her.” It could be interpreted that by denying Cat protection for her long trip home, he’s implying that she isn’t a lady. Shapard also explains that General Tilney’s tyranny overrides Eleanor in her capacity of “mistress of the household,” taking away her responsibility to look after her guests.
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