To what extent is Eleanor the Gothic heroine, not Catherine in Northanger Abbey?

It can definitely be said that Eleanor Tilney possess a great number of the characteristics that the
stereotypical Gothic heroine was deemed to have. Her character throughout the novel does not seem
to change and she remains a constant, well-mannered person whose life seems to hold all the
injustices that a Gothic heroine should have to face. However, what can be debated, is the etent to
which !usten ma"es a moc"ery of the Gothic genre by portraying Eleanor as the Gothic heroine. It
could be seen that !usten wishes her true heroine to be #atherine, whose character develops
throughout the novel and furthermore presents someone with whom we can connect as we see her
learn from her failings.
Eleanor Tilney certainly shows throughout the novel, the stereotypical features of a Gothic heroine,
one of these being her relationship with her controlling father who can be seen to be the Gothic
$villain$ in the novel. $%ell proceed by all means...he continued without leaving his daughter time to
spea"$. Here, General Tilney can be seen to be ta"ing control of his daughters affairs. He leaves her
no time to spea" and we can see toward the end of the novel that her choice of husband was one
which her father controlled as well. %e are told that when Eleanor is eventually allowed to marry
the man we hear little of, that $he had long been withheld only by inferiority of situation from
addressing her$. The way in which the General holds conversations with Eleanor, leaving her little
time to spea" and his speeches ta"ing up much more of the tet, shows a certain level of
entrapment. Eleanor can be seen to portray the Gothic heroine as she is trapped in her controlled life
by her overbearing father.
!nother feature of the Gothic heroine which we see in Eleanor Tilney is the loss of a mother at an
early age. This is a stereotypical feature of a Gothic heroine and one which #atherine does not have.
#atherine is seen to have a large, supporting family which is different from the isolated, helpless
front that traditional Gothic heroines normally possess. !nother way in which Eleanor can be seen
to be the Gothic heroine instead of #atherine is in her loo"s and mannerisms. &he is described as
having $a good figure, a pretty face and a very agreeable countenance$. This is a contrast to
#atherine who