Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Osnabrück, language: English, abstract: This paper is concerned with Jane Austen's novel "Northanger Abbey", which was published posthumously in 1817 and can be classified as a Gothic parody. It will analyze the relation between the novel's protagonist Catherine Morland and Gothic novels; it seeks to determine the significance the Gothic novels have for Catherine. The paper aims to demonstrate that Catherine becomes delusional after reading Gothic novels, she is unable to differentiate between fiction and reality. Her delusions only get interrupted through comic reliefs.