Date of Award
Summer 2019
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
School
Humanities
Committee Chair
Eric Tribunella
Committee Chair School
Humanities
Committee Member 2
Alexandra Valint
Committee Member 2 School
Humanities
Committee Member 3
Nicolle Jordan
Committee Member 3 School
Humanities
Abstract
Although Jane Austen’s fiction is notorious for idyllic marriages between
deserving men and women, this thesis is concerned with its simultaneous investment in the relationships between women. Northanger Abbey (1818) features such relationships as a key part of its protagonist, Catherine Morland’s, development. This thesis looks to the historical context of the novel and identifies the relationships between Catherine Morland and her female companions as romantic friendships characterized by emotional and potentially sexual intimacy. Ultimately, I argue that the romantic friendship between Catherine Morland and Eleanor Tilney provides clear guidelines for the appropriate behavior in same-sex relationships.
ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0784-7293
Copyright
2019, Katherine Waldrop
Recommended Citation
Waldrop, Katherine, "More than Gal Pals: Female Romantic Friendships in Northanger Abbey" (2019). Master's Theses. 665.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/665
Included in
Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons