I absolutely loved the clean break Austen creates with the 18th century novel in Northanger Abbey. Austen's heroine, Catherine Morland, is only an "almost attractive" girl--wholly imperfect in comparison to her female counterparts of Pamela, and Tom Jones , for instance. Catherine is such a refreshing take on what we have witnessed to be the tradition female role. She is confident, sassy, and aware of social standards. It is also important to note that she comes into an awareness of herself within high society by the end of the novel-- discovering its ills, and coming to value her own moral judgment. At times, the satire on the Gothic novel also made me laugh out loud--with Henry Tilney's description of what awaits Catherine at Northanger Abbey. Where she expects to find the terrors she has been trained to in her reading of The Mysteries of Udolpho, Catherine is gravely disappointed and embarrassed by her foolishness. Although she lets her imagination run in Northanger Abbey, Catherine was at least partially correct in her judgment of General Tilney. While no supernatural Gothic scares await her in the Abbey, Catherine discovers an entirely new level of terror-- the greed and ambition that guides General Tilney's regard for her. Although a satire on the Gothic novel, Austen brings Gothic elements to an entirely new level: breaking from the supernatural--to the natural and complex motivations which all humans can relate to.