Northanger Abbey

now i know why masterpiece theatre isn't falling all over itself to show their film adaptation of jane austen's northanger abbey: catherine morland is an idiot!

ok maybe that is harsh....

after all this is not supposed to be the story of a mature woman but a naive teenager. i should have known to adjust my expectations when austen describes her character as being "as ignorant and uninformed as the female mind at seventeen usually is." (p.12).

i shouldn't hold the fact that she isn't anne elliot against her. i mean after all, she can hardly help the fact that she is young, not particularly well educated, and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

here is the thing though. if i was going to sit down and spend some time with a friend, i probably wouldn't choose a naive polyanna type 17 year old. spending two days with catherine morland just reaffirmed my predjucides against these kinds of women.

being annoyed with people who don't take the world with a grain of salt probably says a lot more about me than it does about catherine morland or women who think like her. i'm serious. i am cynical. hmmm this isn't sounding terribly flattering.....

anyway needless to say, not my favorite austen, but it is probably better than a lot of the other drivel out there so if you haven't read it yet, it is kind of annoying but not a complete waste of your time.