Catherine's faulty assumptions of the
General's involvement in Mrs. Tilney's death
Use of Direct Speech
Allows the reader to get a true perception
of the characters without seeing them
through Catherine's flawed viewpoint
Contributes to Catherine's
bildungsroman
By communicating and understanding
the characters she is able to make
correct judgements and assumptions
Catherine judges Isabella correctly
on recieving her letter, she
understands her true motives
“Well, Catherine, how do you like my friend Thorpe?”
instead of answering, as she probably would have
done, had there been no friendship and no flattery in
the case, “I do not like him at all;” she directly replied, “I
like him very much; he seems very agreeable.” Pg. 49
Free Indirect Speech
When the narrator uses the
character's idiolect or speech
to narrate their thoughts
Satirical tone or ambiguity
Jane Austen uses free indirect speech to
comic effect, emphasising the conviction
with which Catherine believes in a Gothic
world - Narelle Shaw