From there,
Fay argues for the importance of
Northanger Abbey. She sees in it a satirical rejection of the expectations placed on women of
Jane Austen’s time, noting especially how the protagonist, Catherine, unabashedly spends lots of time reading novels with her friend. Fay includes a quote from the book about women’s tendency to be ashamed of reading novels, in which Austen asks: “If the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard?” Fay takes the passage as evidence of Austen’s regard for the magic of the
City of Invention.