I’m not exactly sure what to make of this novel. Personally, from reading it I can’t seem to determine whether or not it want to be a sort of critique of the Novel as a form of literature or not. The female protagonist does not seem to exhibit any strong personality traits that would separate her substantially from the swooning, timid subjects that were presented in the readings for Tuesday. In fact, she actually seems a little bit dull at points, especially in her lack of understanding of the initial attraction between James and Isabella.

It is the male, Henry, that is the source of most of the ironic/mocking type dialogue that exists within the novel in the beginning. It seems as though he is not as invested in society as Catherine seems to be. Perhaps he will change Catherine’s attitude regarding life and society.

One thing I did find particularly interesting was the bit in chapter five where the novel as a form of literature is defended by the author. While it makes sense that a writer of novels should not have her protagonist express disdain for the form  in which she is writing, it does seem a bit odd considering the impression I got of the type of novels Catherine read was that they were more akin to the writings were read for Tuesday.