(by Victoria Grossack)
In Jane Austen’s works, the bad guys lie. A lot.
In Jane Austen’s works, the bad guys lie. A lot.
In fact, dishonesty in both word and
deed frequently propels the plot. Let’s
take a tour through the deceptions in Jane Austen’s six novels and then discuss
her depictions of lies, liars, and those who believe them.
Northanger
Abbey. One
of the things I like about this novel is that much of the plot turns on the
lies that characters tell about each other.
Most are delivered by John Thorpe, who tells many lies to General Tilney
about Catherine Morland, the novel’s protagonist. Northanger
Abbey is, as many people know, Austen’s riposte to the over-the-top melodrama
of the gothic novels that were so popular in the late 1700s. And although Austen incorporated some gothic
imaginings, she was able to devise a lovely little novel with prosaic lies.
