From Northanger Abbey, Vol. I, Ch. 3:
“…My dear madam, I am not so ignorant of young ladies’ ways as you wish to believe me; it is this delightful habit of journaling which largely contributes to form the easy style of writing for which ladies are so generally celebrated. Everybody allows that the talent of writing agreeable letters is peculiarly female. Nature may have done something, but I am sure it must be essentially assisted by the practice of keeping a journal.”
“I have sometimes thought,” said Catherine, doubtingly, “whether ladies do write so much better letters than gentlemen! That is — I should not think the superiority was always on our side.”
“As far as I have had opportunity of judging, it appears to me that the usual style of letter-writing among women is faultless, except in three particulars.”
“And what are they?”
“A general deficiency of subject, a total inattention to stops, and a very frequent ignorance of grammar.”
“Upon my word! I need not have been afraid of disclaiming the compliment. You do not think too highly of us in that way.”
“I should no more lay it down as a general rule that women write better letters than men, than that they sing better duets, or draw better landscapes. In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes.”
Henry Tilney has spoken. Here endeth the lesson.
AustenBlog 
Timely. And well tagged:)
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I’m glad someone notices my tags, though even if no one did, they would still amuse me enough to continue.
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LOL! Gets me every time.
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“…….excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes.”
Such beliefs….so long ago, are truly commendable. Well done, rather,,welll thought, Mr Tilney!! 🙂
LOL!!
Love Catherine’s earlier response;
“Upon my word! I need not have been afraid of disclaiming the compliment.”
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Church of Austenology! Love it! Very wise words from the Very Reverend Tilney. So there!
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Henry Tilney is right. Nuff said 🙂
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A wonderful exchange. One of the few times in the text that I think Mr. Tilney genuinely sounds protofeminist. I just recently wrote a piece contesting the pervasive critical view that Tilney is Austen’s mouthpiece in Northanger; you might enjoy checking it out on my blog. I think it leads to a more effective attack on patriarchal society and conclusions about the novel that render it akin to her later masterpieces in social satire. Anyway, cool blog! Just discovered it.
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