Northanger Abbey Chapter 30 Summary

  • Catherine is still upset and distracted and her mother starts to lose patience with her. She thinks that Catherine has gotten spoiled by high society shenanigans and is now mopey and bored at home.
  • Her mom goes to get her some educational pamphlets aimed at spoiled young ladies. Sounds like thrilling reading.
  • But then Henry Tilney shows up. Mrs. Morland is confused and Catherine is stunned silent.
  • Henry says he came to apologize for the whole, 'my dad threw your daughter out of his house' business and to see that Catherine made it home all right.
  • Mrs. Morland starts to get clued in to Catherine's feelings for Henry.
  • Mr. Morland isn't around, so the group sits in awkward silence for a bit.
  • Henry, genius that he is, asks Catherine if the Allens are around and if she'll show him the way to their house so he can go say howdy.
  • Sarah helpfully points out that he can see the Allen's house from the window.
  • Henry ignores her and waits till Mrs. Morland suggests that Catherine walk him there.
  • Henry proposes on their walk and Catherine accepts. It's very sweet.
  • They pay a very quick visit to the Allens and then rush back home to get Mr. and Mrs. Morland's permission to marry.
  • The narrator now gives us the low-down on what happened with the General.
  • Turns out the General got mad cause he discovered that Catherine was less rich than he thought she was.
  • John Thorpe is to blame for the whole mess. He lied about Catherine's family fortune in Bath, back when he thought he might marry Catherine. John is such an egomaniac that he exaggerated Catherine's wealth in order to make himself and his sister sound better, since they were set to marry into a rich family. John tells the general that Catherine's family is loaded and that the Allens are even richer and that Catherine is their heir.
  • So, the General buys this hook, line, and sinker. He sees no reason for John to lie. The General might be giving Catherine a run for her money here in terms of being gullible.
  • So the General kisses up to Catherine in the hopes that she and Henry will marry and will be fabulously rich together.
  • But, after John gets "dumped" by Catherine, and Isabella gets dumped, for real, by James, John is mad. So the next time he sees the General he tells him the exact opposite: that he was mistaken, that the Morlands are frauds and poor and disrespected and have about 20 children.
  • So the General is furious and throws Catherine out of his house.
  • Henry finds this out and is really mad. He and his dad have it out and the General effectively disowns Henry.