Austen Satire Moment: Northanger Abbey and House Maintenance

Whilst revisiting Northanger Abbey, I encountered several caustic passages about Catherine's stay with the Tilneys. Catherine would prefer to meander about with the Tilney siblings, Eleanor and Henry. Instead, the father--who thinks she is a heiress and has pre-selected her for Henry--insists on showing off the house and acreage.

Since Catherine was hoping Northanger Abbey would be a deteriorating medieval abbey with lingering ghosts and hidden secrets--and instead got the equivalent of a suburban ranch house--she is less than excited.

What caught my attention, however, is that such a scene is not the first time Austen's narrator has indicated a lack of interest in other people's home improvements. Mr. Collins, for one, is spoofed for his tremendous excitement about "shelves in the closet."

It is never wise to assume that fiction writers MUST experience the events they detail but the reappearance of such a scene forces me to consider: was Jane Austen cornered at a house party by a happy homeowner with excruciating details about house maintenance?

Not quite as awful as having to watch other people's home videos--but one can see why Austen considered such a circumstance fodder for her novels.