Jane Austen and Transmedia Narratives. Analysis of The Cate Morland Chronicles

Abstract

The main aim of my MA thesis is to analyse The Cate Morland Chronicles (2016), a web series based on Jane Austen’s novel Northanger Abbey (1818), and to explore how transmedia storytelling is used to adapt and modernise a classic novel. In order to do this, different adaptation theories will be reviewed and transmedia storytelling will be introduced. Then, a review of adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels and, especially, of the adaptations of Northanger Abbey will be included. The fan phenomenon and Austenmania will be addressed as a as a possible cause of web series. Finally, the analysis will be carried out. Different transmedia storytelling approaches (Jenkins, Pratten, Scolari) will be applied to study the impact that different media (YouTube videos, blog entries and social network accounts) have had on the story. Moreover, extra-cinematic factors such as place and location (Cartmell and Whelehan, Cardwell, Stam) and the influence of other texts (Stam’s intertextual dialogism) will be studied too. Furthermore, the relation between viewers and the web series will also be analysed to discover how these new adaptations enable viewers to connect with the text. In conclusion, this MA thesis attempts to discover how transmedia narratives can go a step beyond traditional adaption and implement a new and completely different way of connecting with the text.