Archbishop Richard Whately

Richard Whately, the Archbishop of Dublin and the reviewer of Northanger Abbey a presented in appendix E, §4 praises the author Jane Austen very highly which is very interesting, and personally satisfying to me, considering that women were not held in very high esteem as authors during the early nineteenth century and furthermore, novels of any kind were not thought of as a high form of writing. Whately seems to assert that Austen has introduced a new kind of novel in Northanger Abbey as she makes it quite believable and the plot is grounded in reality. Unlike The Romance of the Forest, Austen is writing a critique on the gothic novel within the plot of Northanger Abbey as opposed to actually writing a gothic novel. Whately, who was famous for being rooted in realism and rationalism in his practice and interpretation of Christianity, also praises Austen for her grounded storyline. Everything in Jane Austen's novels, and Northanger Abbey is no exception, could happen in real life. The difference between Austen and Radcliffe is that the plot twists in the former's novels are shocking while the twists in the latter's are unbelievable and ridiculous. I agree with Whately's assertion that the knowledge and wisdom imparted by the characters in Northanger Abbey are impressive because these incidents of sophism are rooted in Austen herself and therefore she is worthy of praise as a scholar and academic. Any novel, work of literature, and insight about the opposite sex as mentioned by a character in Northanger Abby must come from the mind of Austen -- a fact that is supremely impressive.