-
Title
-
Catherine opening the chest
-
Description
-
Here we see Catherine looking through a chest in her room at Northanger Abbey, Henry Tilney’s family home. Catherine came up with a story that the Abbey was haunted based on her reading of gothic novels. She saw the chest after dinner and felt compelled to see what was inside. After some struggling, she got the chest open and found several small drawers and papers inside. Catherine was excited, believing herself to be in her very own gothic novel. It was a stormy night, and a gust of wind blew out her candle, frightening her, and she jumped into bed. This scene occurs in chapter 21 as noted underneath the title of this image. The characters are shown in the traditional regency style, with Catherine wearing the regency style dress with an empire waist. Her hair is worn tied up, as was tradition for women after their “coming out” before the queen, signaling her entrance into society. The regency period dated to the early nineteenth century (1811-1820) when George, Prince of Wales, later George IV (r. 1820-1830), reigned as regent for his mentally ill father, King George III (r. 1760-1820). The regency period is associated with the rise of neoclassicism in art and fashion. The same image appears as an insert between pages 152 and 153 for the Dent 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, and 1897 editions of Northanger Abbey.
-
Image Creator
-
William Cubit Cooke (engraver)
-
Identifier
-
mta:25548
-
Source Name
-
Northanger Abbey
-
Image
-
mta_25548_OBJ.png
mta_25548_OBJ.png