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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Volume 2, Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Henry's Hypothetical Tale:
On the way to Northanger Abbey, Henry tells Catherine a hypothetical tale about her first night in Bath. In Volume 2, Chapter 5, he spins a ridiculous tale that much resembles the story of Udolpho:
[...] you will proceed into this small vaulted room[...]. In one perhaps there may be a dagger, in another a few drops of blood, and in a third the remains of some instrument of torture; but there being nothing in all this out of the common way, and your lamp being nearly exhausted, you will return towards your own apartment[...], your eyes will be attracted towards a large, old-fashioned cabinet of ebony and gold[...]. Impelled by an irresistible presentiment, you will eagerly advance to it, unlock its folding doors, and search into every drawer[...].
Henry mentions a handful of classic Gothic tropes including hidden passages, mysterious chests, and evildoing. This silly story does not foreshadow actual events; it rather foreshadows (and encourages) Catherine's imaginative re-creation of his prophecy. She later searches through her room in the exact manner Henry describes, and when she finds nothing but a laundry-bill, she feels ashamed and hopes that he does not discover her foolishness (despite the fact that he knowingly encouraged her imagination). This device leads the reader to question the boundaries of fiction and reality, as Henry's tale both foreshadows and influences the course of events in the narrative.
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