When Henry tries to dissuade Catherine of her Gothic-inspired notions that General Tilney is a murderer, he cites male authors that were so influential in establishing rules of proper conduct.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 p. 42. This is an attempt to try to dismiss one genre that was popular with women with another genre that was popular with men. Austen uses this discourse of the essays as an example of imposing power over women by using a type of language that limits what one may think.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 pp. 44–45. Henry's speech is that expected of a polite society in Britain at the time.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 p. 45. The ingenue Catherine is unfamiliar with the ways of a polite society.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 p. 46. Henry establishes himself as worthy of being Catherine's husband in his role as a "lover mentor" who teaches Catherine the ways of polite society to allow her to eventually fit in.
When Henry tries to dissuade Catherine of her Gothic-inspired notions that General Tilney is a murderer, he cites male authors that were so influential in establishing rules of proper conduct.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 p. 42. This is an attempt to try to dismiss one genre that was popular with women with another genre that was popular with men. Austen uses this discourse of the essays as an example of imposing power over women by using a type of language that limits what one may think.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 pp. 44–45. Henry's speech is that expected of a polite society in Britain at the time.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 p. 45. The ingenue Catherine is unfamiliar with the ways of a polite society.Irvine, Robert Jane Austen, London: Routledge, 2005 p. 46. Henry establishes himself as worthy of being Catherine's husband in his role as a "lover mentor" who teaches Catherine the ways of polite society to allow her to eventually fit in.