【导语】下面是小编收集整理的外语专业自荐信范文（共17篇），供大家参考借鉴，希望可以帮助到有需要的朋友。
篇1：外语专业自荐信
您好！首先感谢您在百忙之中浏览我的自荐材料，给我一次迈向成功的机会。
我是广州大学（原广州师范学院）20xx年本科英语教育专业毕业生。在临近毕业之际，本人希望能得到贵单位的赏析与栽培。我自小就梦想能最大限度地发挥自己的英语才能，在此特向贵单位自荐。
本人思想端正，品德良好，政治觉悟高，能独立思考一些国际政治和经济形势，被评为入党积极分子，并且党课结业。
学习方面，我十分热爱本专业，本着严谨的求学态度，努力学习基础专业知识，成绩优良。并且注重理论与实践相结合，做到“活学活用”，“学为所用”，综合素质得到了大大的提高。此外，顺利通过了专业英语四级、计算机全国一级、普通话二乙等水平测试；我还特别注重现代教育技术的运用，不但主修了计算机基础操作、现代教育技术，还选修了多媒体课件设计与制作、文献检索等课程。
综合素质方面，我积极争取参加各种学术竞赛来提高自己的专业水平。例如，20xx年，本人和数学系的两个师兄为一小组代表广州大学参加了“美国大学生数学建模大赛（MCM，20xx）”，比赛过程中提高了我的翻译水平。20xx年，本人参加了全国“挑战杯”学术大赛，担当关于“现代教育技术在英语教学中的现状和策略研究” 研究课题的组长。虽然本课题才获得优秀奖，但在研究过程中，我的教学理论和技能等各方面得到了发展。在20xx－20xx间, 参加了广州大学科技辅导团, 参与并组织了科技辅导团小组到真光小学进行志愿辅导。20xx年10月26日至31日担任98届中国出口商品交易会的英语口译。实习方面，我在花都区云山中学实习了近两个月，担任实习班主任和英语老师，期间表现积极优秀，受到实习中学老师好评。课堂教学形式丰富，班主任工作完成得十分认真和有特色，受到学生的认可和欢迎。
社团活动方面，我参加广州大学自律会并被评为“优秀学生干部”。参加了广州大学红十字会，进行了无偿血；并担任外国语学院红十字会的学生干部，参与组织了无偿献血、英语口语大赛和英语演讲比赛的工作。此外，还参加了广州大学语言协会和团委家教中心，担任过从小学生到成人的家教老师，受到家长和学生的好评。已具备了一定的组织管理能力、表达能力和协调能力。
本人性格随和，待人诚恳，乐于交际，得到同学和老师们的喜爱，因此被授予广州大学“文明住宿生"称号。同时，我的爱好广泛，特别热爱各种体育运动，例如：羽毛球、排球、篮球等。
四年的大学生活培养了我严肃的科学态度和与人合作的精神。“学高为师，身正为范”，我已经做好充分的准备投身到人民教师的岗位中去，发挥我的才干，为贵单位的繁荣昌盛做出我的贡献。诚然，茫茫人海中我不是最优秀的，也不是贵单位的唯一选择，但我希望我是贵单位最合适的选择！
篇2：外语专业自荐信
在校期间，我思想积极要求进步，主动参加学校组织的马列协会、红烛协会及心理协会，在业余时间为人们送去温暖与帮助。在担任班长和生活委员职务期间，我以诚实、稳重、高度的责任心赢得了同学们的信赖与肯定。
在学习上，我一点一滴地积累自己的专业知识，连续三年获得校级以上奖学金，由于优异的`成绩和突出的表现，XX年XX月至XX年XX月，我被教育部公派选拔到俄罗斯XX国立大学语言系留学。可以说，这次机遇为我开拓了一个全新的视野。光辉灿烂的俄罗斯文化，凝重辉煌的古典式建筑，朴实热情的俄罗斯人，都给我留下了永生难忘的印象，并在心里深深地为自己能学俄语专业而感到庆幸。我充分利用这个有利的语言环境，使听、说、读、写、译的能力得到大大提高，最终顺利通过俄罗斯国家二级水平测试。在业余时间，我外出调查市场动态，搜集方方面面的材料，以便掌握俄罗斯的最新信息，为国内的工作和学习提供最原始的素材。回国以后，我给全系同学作了以“走近俄罗斯”为主题的报告会，在
院里引起了一定的轰动。我深信，这一难得的经历对我以后的工作和继续学习将会大有裨益。
今年九月，我积极参加了在XX市XX中学进行的教育实习活动。我落落大方的教态，明晰清楚的讲解，认真负责的态度获得了指导教师和学生们的一致好评。
如今，在一些行业面临大批富余人员下岗待业的社会环境中，教师行业以其较高的社会地位吸引着越来越多的人士加盟，但大多数人看中的是它的稳定性，而没有意识到它潜伏的危机。我认为，若想在教师的职业中长期站稳脚跟，必须不断地提高自身的知识素养，具备开拓创新的能力和孜孜不倦的敬业精神，也只有这样，才能使我国的教育事业真正得到振兴与发展。
“空谈误国，实干兴邦”，诚望贵校能给我一个接受考核的机会！ 最后祝您工作顺利，身体健康！
祝（助）贵校事业蒸蒸日上！
求职人：XXX
XXXX年XX月XX日
篇3：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的领导：
您好，感谢您在百忙之中愿意读我这封信。我希望能够借助这封信给您提供一份关于我的大概的信息，以便您能够对我有一个初步的了解。
我是侯xx，来自南京师范大学外国语学院英语专业。我喜欢我的专业，而且每年都会取得一定的进步。在校期间，我曾担任团支书以及体育委员，组织并参与多项校内活动，并且获得好评。我也是阳光志愿者中的一员，曾经被评为优秀志愿者。我暂时还不是党员，但是我已经从入党积极分子培训班毕业。我积极，乐观，爱与并且善于与他人沟通。我忠诚，守信，有责任感，注重团队合作。
再次感谢你的阅读，希望您能给我一次面试的机会，以便进一步考察我的能力。 祝您一切顺利，心想事成，在这次招聘过程中得到您理想的员工。
此 致
敬 礼
篇4：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的领导：
您好！当我的自荐信置于您的案头时，非常感谢您在百忙中阅读我的材料！我是一名刚刚从开封市教育学院学院毕业的大学生.我很荣幸有机会向您呈上我的个人资料.在投身社会之际,为了找到符合自己专业和兴趣的工作,更好地发挥 自己的才能,实现自己的人生价值,谨向各位领导作一自我推荐.现将自己的情况简要介绍如下:
作为一名外语专业的大学生,我热爱我的专业并为其投入了巨大的`热情和精力. 在四年的学习生活中,我所学习的内容包括了从英语基础知识到运用等许多方面.通过对这些知识的学习,我对这一领域的相关知识有了一定程度的理解和掌握,外语是一种工具,而利用此工具的能力是最重要的,在与课程同步进行的各种相关时践和实习中, 具有了一定的实际应用能力.，我通过了英语专业4级考试，成绩良好。在学校工作中,加强锻炼处世能力,学习管理知识,吸收管理经验. 我知道计算机和网络是将来的工具,在学好本专业的前提下,我对计算机产生了极大的兴趣并阅读了大量有关书籍,能熟练掌握基本操作，有效利用网络资源.
我正处于人生中精力充沛的时期,我渴望在更广阔的天地里展露自己的才能,我不满足与现有的知识水平,期望在实践中得到锻炼和提高,因此我希望能够加入你们的单位 .我会踏踏实实的做好属于自己的一份工作,竭尽全力的在工作中取得好的成绩.我相信 经过自己的勤奋和努力,一定会做出应有的贡献.
四载匆匆，我深深懂得：昨天的一切已成为历史，未来的辉煌要靠今天脚踏实地坚持不懈地努力去实现。做事踏实、投入，但不盲目，这是我工作、学习和生活的一个重要准则。在我即将离校的时候，我携带着学到的知识和年轻人满腔的热情与梦想，真诚地向贵单位自荐。尽管在众多的应聘者中，我不一定是最优秀的，但我仍很自信，我相信我有能力在贵单位干得出色。感谢您在百忙之中所给与我的关注,愿贵单位的事业蒸蒸日上,屡创佳绩,祝您的事业 百尺竿头,更进一步! 真诚期待您的回音。随信附有我的简历及相关资料，如有机会与您面谈，我将十分荣幸！
此致
敬礼！
自荐人： 李娜
1月1日
篇5：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的领导：
你好！
我是一个xx学院**英语专业的一个学生，经过三年的大学学习和运动，我将在**年的大学教育中完成，真正进入社区，开始了一条新的生活之路。
在过去两年中，在学校领导和教师的指导下，我努力学习专业知识，培养专业技能，职业水平每年都有显着提高，二年级有良好成绩通过英语四考，在*年参加六项考试。在使用英语听，说，读和写的基本能力的基础上，我深入了解语言学，英美文学和英美文化，同时调整知识结构，扩大视野，在此基础上，我也掌握了电脑操作可以熟练使用微软的词，excel，powerpoint，熟悉互联网的使用，让更完美的自己。
众所周知，二十一世纪给人民的教师带来了更为严峻的挑战。在研究国内外有影响的教育理论时，我特别注意实践能力的培养。除积极参与部门，学校，学校的活动外，在社会实践中，通过导师和兼职教师的工作，把理论运用到实践中，并根据学生的特点，总结和发展适当的教学方法，积累起初的教学经验，这一切都可以使我在今年的.教育实践发挥专业，优秀完成实习任务，获得优异成绩。
我坚信，生活需要画自己，不一样的方式有不同的生活。未来的事业要靠自己探索和奋斗。请相信我负责工作的严肃态度，如果你能得到你的赞赏，我会用实际行动来回报你的信任。谢谢。
我期待着能够进入您的公司，为您的公司的发展做出贡献。我祝你工作顺利。健康的身体。
篇6：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的贵校领导：
您好！
感谢您在百忙之中垂阅我的自荐书。当您开启这份自荐书时，将是对我大学学习生活的检阅；当您最终合上这份自荐书，也许又将决定我人生新的征程。
我是安庆师范学院20xx届英语教育专业应届专科毕业生。即将面临就业的选择，我十分想到贵单位供职。希望与贵单位的同事们携手并肩，共扬希望之帆，共创事业辉煌。
十年磨一剑，今日把示君。经过五年多的专业学习和大学生活的磨炼，我自信、沉着、冷静、真诚、宽容、勤劳，有不畏艰难，锲而不舍的顽强意志。为了立足社会，为了自己的事业成功，五年中我不断努力学习，取得了较好的.成绩。大学期间通过了全国普通话测试二级乙等考试，并多次获得校一等奖学金等。同时为了不断扩大知识面，我还利用课余时间辅修了教师职业技能（三字一画），熟练掌握了从师的基本技能。熟练掌握专业课应具备听、说、读、写、译的能力，熟悉Windows操作系统，掌握office办公软件和运用软件Powerpoint制作课件，进行多媒体教学。
学习固然重要，但能力培养也必不可少。四年多来，为提高自己的授课力，积累教育经验，从大二开始，我在学好各门专业课的同时，还利用课余时间积极参加家教实践活动。为进一步积累系统的教育经验，我到桐城市实验小学进行了长达两个月的教育实习工作，在两个月的实习时间，我积极向有经验的老师请教，注意学习他们的教学艺术，提高自身的业务水平和授课表达技巧，力争使自己的教学风格做到知识性和趣味性并举。通过自己不断的努力和教学实践，我已具备一名优秀教师素质，过硬的工作作风，扎实的教学基本功，较强的自学和适应能力，良好的沟通和协调能力，使我对未来的教育工作充满了信心和期望。
十多年的寒窗苦读，现在的我已豪情满怀、信心十足。事业上的成功需要知识、毅力、汗水、机会的完美结合。同样，一个单位的荣誉需要承载她的载体――人的无私奉献。我恳请贵单位给我一个机会，让我有幸成为你们中的一员，我将以百倍的热情和勤奋踏实的工作来回报您的知遇之恩。
期盼能得到您的回音！
篇7：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的贵校领导：
您好！
感谢您在百忙之中垂阅我的自荐书。当您开启这份自荐书时，将是对我大学学习生活的检阅；当您最终合上这份自荐书，也许又将决定我人生新的征程。
我是安庆师范学院20xx届英语教育专业应届专科毕业生。即将面临就业的选择，我十分想到贵单位供职。希望与贵单位的同事们携手并肩，共扬希望之帆，共创事业辉煌。
十年磨一剑，今日把示君。经过五年多的专业学习和大学生活的磨炼，我自信、沉着、冷静、真诚、宽容、勤劳，有不畏艰难，锲而不舍的顽强意志。为了立足社会，为了自己的事业成功，五年中我不断努力学习，取得了较好的成绩。大学期间通过了全国普通话测试二级乙等考试，并多次获得校一等奖学金等。同时为了不断扩大知识面，我还利用课余时间辅修了教师职业技能（三字一画），熟练掌握了从师的基本技能。熟练掌握专业课应具备听、说、读、
写、译的能力，熟悉Windows操作系统，掌握office20xx办公软件和运用软件Powerpoint制作课件，进行多媒体教学。
学习固然重要，但能力培养也必不可少。四年多来，为提高自己的授课力，积累教育经验，从大二开始，我在学好各门专业课的同时，还利用课余时间积极参加家教实践活动。为进一步积累系统的教育经验，我到桐城市实验小学进行了长达两个月的教育实习工作，在两个月的实习时间，我积极向有经验的老师请教，注意学习他们的教学艺术，提高自身的业务水平和授课表达技巧，力争使自己的教学风格做到知识性和趣味性并举。通过自己不断的努力和教学实践，我已具备一名优秀教师素质，过硬的工作作风，扎实的教学基本功，较强的自学和适应能力，良好的沟通和协调能力，使我对未来的教育工作充满了信心和期望。
十多年的寒窗苦读，现在的我已豪情满怀、信心十足。事业上的成功需要知识、毅力、汗水、机会的完美结合。同样，一个单位的荣誉需要承载她的载体——人的无私奉献。我恳请贵单位给我一个机会，让我有幸成为你们中的一员，我将以百倍的热情和勤奋踏实的工作来回报您的知遇之恩。
期盼能得到您的回音！
此致
篇8：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的各位公司领导：
您们好.
本人是华中师范大学英语系06级地一名毕业生,即将于明年七月完成本科学业,真正地步入社会,开始人生地新一段征程.感谢您能翻阅我的自荐书.
上大学后,本人最郑重地告诉自我地一句话是：学通您地专业,利用它为您地人生开辟道路.于是本人以交际英语为方向,首先侧重于打好基础,从听,说,读,写几方面训练基本技能,在达到自如地运用英语地基础上,本人涉猎了英美概况,英美文学,语言学等相关专业知识.同时,本人还自学了部分经贸英语知识,这些努力不仅使本人地专业水平每年都有相应提高,而且扩
展了视野,丰富了头脑,并使本人于大二时以良好地成绩通过了英语专业四级考试,还将于明年三月参加专业八级测试.
深知语言交际作用地重要性,本人特别注重学以致用.除了积极地,有选择地参加院,校组织地活动外,本人还时常参加英语角,陪同外国访问团,翻译一些资料,在课外辅导班做兼职教师等.这让本人有机会结交了很多朋友,丰富了阅历,而且感到生活更加充实.
本人没有任何引人注目地特长,也不善于领导人,因此三年多来只是通过尽心尽职地学习与工作而得到了大家地认可,但有一点本人绝对可以保证,了解本人地人也定会认可,那就是只要本人接手地事,本人一定会付出百分之百地精力去做好,凭着这股劲儿与几年来地知识经验,本人地第一次试讲被指导教师作为典范讲评,本人在今年九月地实习中获得优异成绩. 大学四年里,有收获也有遗憾,但欣慰地是,这些经历使本人学会了冷静,执着,使本人变得愈加独立,坚韧；教本人学会在人生地坐标上寻找适合自我地位置,并不断调整与完善自本人；更让本人意识到要勇于在人生地不同阶段迎接新地挑战.因此当又一次走到人生地十字路口时,本人诚挚地希望能加入您们这群充满生命力,竞争力与挑战力地精英当中,在各方英才地领导与帮助下,为单位地再度发展与腾飞推波助澜.
祝贵单位事业蒸蒸日上.
此致：敬礼.
自荐人：XXX
20xx年6月19日
篇9：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的领导：
您好！
首先感谢您在百忙之中抽出宝贵的'时间来阅读这封自荐信。
我是XX大学商务外语专业应届毕业生。在此临近毕业之际，我期望能得到贵单位的赏识与栽培。为了发挥自己的才能，特向贵单位自荐。
我以“严”字当头，在学习上勤奋严谨，对课堂知识不懂就问，力求深刻理解。在掌握了本专业知识的基础上，不忘拓展自己的知识面。同时，为了全面提升个人素质，我积极参加各种活动，经过长期刻苦的训练。经历使我认识到团结合作的重要性，也学到了很多社交方面的知识，增加了阅历，相信这对我今后投身社会将起重要作用。
我是一个做任何事都充满激情的人，如果我能喜获您的赏识，我一定会尽职尽责地用实际行动向您证明。我一定会不负所望的做好每一件事的。公司的未来，我愿奉献我毕生的心血和汗水。
希望贵公司能给我一个发展的平台，我会好好珍惜它，并全力以赴，为实现自己的人生价值而奋斗，为贵公司的发展贡献力量。
祝贵公司事业欣欣向荣，业绩蒸蒸日上，也祝您身体健康，万事如意！
此致
敬礼！
求职人：
XXX年XX月XX日
篇10：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的领导：
您好！
非常感谢您在百忙之中阅读我的简历，给我一个展现自我的机会。
我叫黎xx，是广州大学（原广州师范学院）外国语学院一名应届毕业生，主修英语师范专业。本着“学高为师，身正为范”的信念，凭着对知识的渴求，对理想的向往，在四年丰富多彩的大学生活中，我一直在努力尝试，全情投入，不断提高，努力把自己培养成一名充满自信、具有竞争力的新世纪人才。
大学四年，我认真对待学习，刻苦努力，上课认真听讲，认真思考问题，每次考试都取得优异的成绩，并很好地掌握本专业的基本技能，英语的听说读写方面基础扎实。我利用空余时间阅读外国名著，从中积累了不少英文知识。同时，我还选修了多门实用的非专业课程，扩充自己的知识面。我还利用课余时间自学Windows与Office软件的运用。
在工作上，我具有较强的独立工作能力和组织协调能力，善于与人沟通合作，具有良好的文字及语言表达能力。曾担任班上的生活委员，学校球迷协会组织部的干事，学校马列主义读书小组干事。此外，我有较强的社会实践能力，并且热心公益活动。在大四的教学实习期间，积极认真，在仔细研究、熟悉教材的基础上，多方面搜集资料进行备课，采用多种教学手段和方法授课，表达清晰，重难点突出，能调动学生积极性，使课堂气氛活跃，受到科任老师和学生的好评。班主任工作细心到位，主动了解学生的学习情况和心理状况，与学生建立和谐关系。
天道酬勤，四年的大学生活锻炼了我各方面的能力，提高了我的综合素质。我知道，以上取得的成绩只是我日后工作的新起点，我非常希望用学到的知识和技能回报社会。相信，凭着我对教育事业的执着和热诚，凭着我积极进取的心态和扎实的知识，我将会在工作岗位上表现得更加出色！恳请您给我一个机会！
此致！
敬礼！
自荐人：黎xx
篇11：外语专业自荐信
大学四年，我日趋成熟，师大的人文学术气氛培养了我的道德情操、养成了我独到的一套学习方法，我时时严格要求自己，事事严格要求自己，使我在多个方面都有了飞跃的进步。
在学习上，我深知学习是学生的天职，如果不努力学习将不能胜任未来工作的挑战。本人除努力学习自己的专业英语外，还积极的拓展知识面，在各阶段考试中，已良好的成绩全都通过，在校期间，曾获得三等奖学金，除此之外，为了适应日新月异的新时代发展的需要，再加上自身的兴趣，大一期间，参加了系里的计算机培训，掌握了基本操作，大二，大三期间，在吉林工业大学辅修计算机专业，并以优异的成绩结业。
在工作方面，我已初步显示了自己在协调学生工作方面的才能。从大一开始，我一直担任寝室长之职，积极配合系里的辅导员作好学生工作。
敬业方面，在东北师大附中实习期间，我不断向老师们虚心请教，认真工作，获得了老师和同学们的好评，取得了“优”的成绩。三年中我未间断过家教工作，我教过各个年龄段的学生，从中获益匪浅，一方面，我了解了不同学生男睦矸⒄辜把舛晕蠢吹慕逃吧系囊乱担螅硪环矫妫猿酢⒏咧械目伪居兴
醪秸莆眨嵊泻艽蟀镏在文娱体育方面，我积极参加体育锻炼，三年中，体育成绩一直是优等，曾任班级中的体育委员。不仅如此，我对舞蹈有着浓厚的兴趣，并自学多年，积极参加学校的文娱活动，另外，我还擅长于绘画，为班级出墙报、板报。
在思想道德方面，对教育事业，我充满热情，深知“十年树木，百年树人”的道理，教育事业的兴衰成败关系到一个国家、一个民族的兴衰成败，我愿在教育事业中尽一份绵薄之力。而且，我信奉师大附中校训中的一句话：要做教育家，而不仅仅是教书匠。所以，在未来的教育工作中，我会不断地为此努力。
贵校在教学上严谨求实的风格吸引了我，我很希望我能有幸的成为贵校中的一员，我会为贵校的教育发展而努力，我相信，我会成为一名合格的教师。最后，恳请贵校给我一个机会来证明自己的能力。
祝贵校事业蒸蒸日上，百尺竿头更进一步。
篇12：外语专业自荐信
尊敬的领导：
您好！
感谢您在百忙之中审阅我的求职申请。
入校以来，我坚持刻苦学习，通过四年的积累，拥有了作为一名跨世纪师范大学生应该掌握的理论基础知识和专业知识。在担任班级干部期间，注重锻炼自己的组织领导和协调合作的能力，积极热情地开展工作，在同学中享有一定的威望。
同时，我也利用课余时间加强对自己实践能力的培养，积极参加各种社团活动，全方位充实自己。四年中，我一直在英语学会工作，通过和他们的语言交流，拓宽了自己的文化视野，提高了自己的英语运用能力。(Motivational model yuedu.mipang.com)我在XX中实习期间，落落大方的教态，明晰清楚的讲解，认真负责的态度获得了指导老师和学生们的一致好评。
天行健，君子当自强不息。我深信我会一步一个脚印走得更好！但我也明白自己的平凡，知道自己在各方面还需要进一步提高。或许在贵校的求职者中我并不是最优秀的，但我相信自己的综合实力，更相信您的慧眼。
大学之道，止于至善。恳切盼望您详考、慎虑，使我与贵校共同发展，求至善、创辉煌！
我的过去正是为贵校的发展准备、积蓄；
我的未来正是为贵校奋斗、拼搏、奉献。
此致
敬礼
求职人：XXX
XXXX年XX月XX日
篇13：外语毕业生自荐信
外语毕业生自荐信
尊敬的领导：
您好！
我是cc外国语学校外语系200x届的一名学生。在即将毕业的时刻，看到了贵公司的招聘启示。贵公司的发展前景和用人之道我很仰慕，同时我也非常希望能用自己所学的知识为贵公司效力。我认为我完全可以符合贵公司的要求，故写此自荐信请各位领导审查。
我于200c年以优异的成绩被厦门大学外语系录取，在校期间，除了刻苦学好本专业课程外，还自学了计算机、英语等，并考取XX大学辅修了计算机网络二专业，并顺利通过考试，取得结业证书。并掌握了一定的经济、贸易知识，能做到英语、日语的翻译和对外谈判等工作。
在任职组织部副部长期间，参与、策划并组织了一系列大型活动，具有一定的组织能力和宣传能力；此外，我还积极参加各种体育运动，也曾在校运动会上为班级争光，并代表系里参加过校乒乓球比赛，取得了优异的成绩。
我的人生信条就是：事在人为。我认为不论做什么事，只要你想做，并认真去做，就一定能做到。因此，从初中起我就时刻注意把自己锻炼成一个做事认真、有毅力、乐观、自信的人，也正因为如此，我才能顺利地考取重点高中、重点大学。虽然这些都是曾经的'辉煌，不值一提，但我认为最重要的是保留在自己身上的那种坚韧不拔的精神，这种精神将同样有助于我胜任贵公司的工作。
虽然我们未曾谋面，但请您相信，您的选择不会错！希望贵公司能给我一次展现自我的机会，能成为贵 公司一员，我三生有幸！请领导相信我的实力，给我一次证明自己的机会，也同样证明贵公司的正确选择。
最后，衷心地祝贵公司的事业蒸蒸日上，不断前进！
此致
敬礼
篇14：外语类专业自荐信
外语类专业自荐信模板
尊敬的**
首先，感谢您阅读我的自荐信，以下，我对自己作一个简单的自我介绍。
我于xx年以优异的成绩被xx大学外语系录取，在校期间，除了刻苦学好本专业课程外，还自学了计算机、英语等。并掌握了一定的经济、贸易知识，能做到英语、日语的翻译和对外谈判等工作。
在任职组织部副部长期间，参与、策划并组织了一系列大型活动，具有一定的组织能力和宣传能力;此外，我还积极参加各种体育运动，也曾在校运动会上为班级争光，并代表系里参加过校乒乓球比赛，取得了优异的成绩。
我的.人生信条就是：事在人为。我认为不论做什么事，只要你想做，并认真去做，就一定能做到。因此，从初中起我就时刻注意把自己锻炼成一个做事认真、有毅力、乐观、自信的人，也正因为如此，我才能顺利地考取重点高中、重点大学。虽然这些都是曾经的辉煌，不值一提，但我认为最重要的是保留在自己身上的那种坚韧不拔的精神，这种精神将同样有助于我胜任贵公司的工作。请领导相信我的实力，给我一次证明自己的机会，也同样证明贵公司的正确选择。
随信随我的个人简历，最后，我衷心地祝贵公司的事业蒸蒸日上，不断前进!
此致
**
您未来的员工：xxx
篇15：外语教师自荐信
外语教师自荐信
从小我就十分崇拜教师这一阳光下最光辉的职业，经历了3年多的大学生活，使我更加清醒的认识到“捧着一颗心来，不带半根草去”的人民教师的伟大，也更坚定了自己做一名优秀的人民教师的信念。
我深知新时期的人民教师一定要具备全面过硬的素质，从踏入大学校门的第一天起，我就给自己定下了一个高端的目标，抓住一切机会学习新的知识，全面的锤炼摔打自己。大学三年，我顺利通过了全国大学生英语CET四级考试，并考取了普通话水平测试二级乙等级证书、全国计算机等级考试二级合格证书和机动车驾驶证C 。同时，我还广泛涉猎了法律、文学、语言学、心理学、教育学等，修完了本专业以外的多门课程，并自学了第二外语----日语和韩语。目前，我正紧张的筹备全国大学生英语六级、日语一级考试、普通话二级甲等考试和教师资格考试。
学以致用是我一惯坚持的原则。为了更加全面的锻炼自己，除了积极参加院系集体组织的活动外，我还利用假期先后到部队、学校、服务行业、销售行业等场所进行了社会实践，并先后做家教和兼职教师 0余次。通过家教和兼职教师工作，得以把理论应用于实践。并根据学生特点，总结和行之有效的教学方法，积累了初步的教学经验。这一切使我有足够的.信心在今年的教育实习中发挥特长，出色地完成实习任务，获得优异成绩。
3年多的大学生活教我学会了冷静、坚忍不拔，使我能在人生的坐标上找寻适合自己的位置并不断修整自我，学到了如何与人为善、袒露真诚。在日趋激烈的市场竞争环境下，为了生存；在瞬息万变的年代中，为了上进，我不懈的努力，不断的追求。因为我坚信：成功属于勤者!
在莘莘学子中，我并非最好。但我拥有不懈奋斗的意志，愈战愈强的精神和塌实肯干的作风，我相信自己能做到更好。诚望贵校全面考察我的情况，若能蒙您垂青，我将深感荣幸，并在日后的工作中，不懈拼搏之劲，不失进取之心，在长辈们的关心和帮助下，一倾文思韬略，才赋禀质为您效力！
最后祝贵校事业蒸蒸日上，全体教职工健康进步！
敬盼回音！
此致
敬礼！
自荐人：沈xx
二0xx年xx月xx日
篇16：外语专业求职信
(一)：
尊敬的领导：
您好!
我非常感谢你在百忙之中惠阅我的自荐材料!
我叫XX，来自XX，今年XX岁，现为XX师范大学外国语学院英语专业毕业学生。
在大学四年的光阴岁月里，我更是惜时如金，不断从各方面严格地要求自己。因为自己深知未来就是“知识就是力量”的社会，我利用本专业知识和自己感兴趣的领域的信息，对有关信息进行分析并得出自己的结论，掌握相关领域的动态，熟悉相关企业的用人需求和管理风格，更主要是可以培养提升自己分析信息能力的水平。除了完成大学里面的教学大纲要求，并且取得成绩优秀总评之外，我还大量涉猎各方面的知识，通过看报、听广播、看电视、上网、与老师、同学讨论等等，不仅扩大自己的知识面、增长见识，而且帮助自己正确地树立了人生观、价值观：对社会做出自己的贡献!
随着知识经济的诞临，社会将更加需要“专业突出，素质全面”的复合性人才。课外的我积极投身于各种班级、学院及社交活动，从不同层次、不同角度锻炼自己，例如培养自己的沟通能力，创新能力，团队合作精神，增强自己的责任心和自信心等个人技能，个人技能的形成更多依赖于自我的修养，而从我一进校园，我就尝试对未来的职业生涯进行规划，这可以帮助自己更好的了解自己。
诚实正直的我，使我懂得如何用真心与付出去获取别人的回报，我会用努力与智慧去争取我的空间，让社会来容纳我。尊敬的领导，相信你伯乐的慧眼，相信我的能力，我真诚地希望能够成为你的麾下，共同创造美好的未来.
热切期盼您的回音，谢谢!
我相信只要您给我一个机会，我会让您满意您的选择!相信您的信任与我的实力将为我们带来共同的成功!
下页附个人简历表，盼面谈!顺祝贵单位事业蒸蒸日上!也祝您身体健康，工作顺利!
此致
敬礼!
(二)：
尊敬的领导：
您好! 感谢您在百忙中翻阅我的求职信!
我是XX外语大学英语专业一名应届毕业生。经历了四年的高校教育和高校生活，面对新的机遇和挑战，我更坚定了“自信、自强、勤奋、谦虚”的人生信条。
XX外语大学是我国著名的英语人材培养基地，素以治学严谨、育人有方而著称。在这样的学习环境下，我切身地体会到了学习英语的乐趣并立志当一名人民教师将自己奉献给英语教育事业，无论是在知识能力，还是在素质修养方面，我都受益匪浅。
“学高为师，身正为范”是我一直铭记的警言。以此为鉴，我在大学四年中努力学习，不断充实自我，调整自我。在校期间，我从英语专业特点入手，在听、说、读、写、译等方面严格要求自己。各学科成绩良好。大二时以良好的成绩通过了专业四级的考试，大三时又以良好的成绩通过了专业六级考试，现在正积极备考全国英语专业八级考试。
同时，我大量汲取课外的知识，阅读英文原文著作、报刊、杂志，经常参加各院系的学术报告活动，扩展知识的广度和深度。能够熟练地回复英文商业信函并能及时翻译各种日常文稿，能用英语进行流利的交流。对于第二外语法语也具备了一定的听说能力。计算机方面能熟练运用office办公软件和windows操作系统，熟练处理各种文档。除此之外，我还参加了学校组织的各种英语专业相关培训以及教师资格证培训。在大学四年中共获得了四次奖学金奖励。
我性格开朗、乐观向上、自信、稳重、幽默、诚恳务实，待人热情、真诚。工作认真负责，积极主动，能吃苦耐劳。有较强的组织能力、实际动手能力和团体协作精神，能迅速的适应各种环境，并融合其中。在学校与同学关系融洽，在各类社会实践活动中，如家教，各种企事业单位的销售和推广工作等，与同事建立了良好的人际关系。这些社会实践工作使我具备了敏锐的洞察力、独立的思考判断能力、果断的行事作风以及团队合作精神，最重要的是学会了为人处世之道。扎实的专业能力和积累的社会实践经验使我自信能胜任贵校所要求的工作。
我的知识、胆识与卓识期待您的赏识!我的慧心、爱心与信心也定会助您实现伟业雄心!
祝您工作顺心!
此致
敬礼!
篇17：外语专业毕业论文
ABSTRACT
On Anti-Gothicism in Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey, one of Jane Austen’s famous works, mainly tells the story of an innocent girl, a Gothic novel fan, who treats herself as the heroine of a Gothic novel and makes many ridiculous adventures by taking Gothic stories as real happenings, but finally learns to distinguish between the imaginary life in novels and the real life of her own. The novel criticizes the ridiculousness and meaninglessness of Gothic novels in a satirical way. The thesis analyzes Austen’s parody of Gothic plot, characterization, and the heroine’s Gothic adventures in Northanger Abbey, and argues that the work reveals her anti-Gothicism through a comparison with the typical features of prevailing Gothic novels in her age.
Key words:Northanger Abbey; Jane Austen; anti-Gothicism
Introduction
Jane Austen (1775~1817), who lived at the turn of the 18th and 19th century, is the most distinguished as well as the most widely read female novelist in British literature. She was born on December 16, 1775, at Steventon rectory in Hampshire, England, and died in Winchester on July 18, 1817, and was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Austen lives in a large family with six brothers and one sister. Her father, George Austen was a rector for much of his life. Her sister, Cassandra Elizabeth, was her best friend. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers, and her own reading also helped a lot with her writing. During Austen’s education and writing life, her father was the most important guide, for he not only provided her with a well-stocked family library, but also supported her writing with much effort. He had created a democratic and easy intellectual atmosphere at home. They often talked about different political or social ideas, and any personal opinions would be accepted and discussed. Jane Austen began to write when she was only about thirteen and the everlasting support of her family was crucial to her development as a professional writer.
Austen’s personal experiences have a great influence on her writing. “Of events her life was singularly barren: few changes and no great crisis even broke the smooth current of its course” (James 11). Austen’s works are usually confined to a limited circle. In a letter to her nephew Edward, Austen made comments on her own work as “[h]ow could I possibly join them on to the little bit of Ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush, as produces little effect after much labor?” (Lefroy 160). Liu Bingshan appraised that “[t]he comparison is true. The ivory surface is small enough, but the woman who made drawings of human life on it is a real artist” (309). Some critics accuse Jane Austen of writing with a narrow vision, and that her novels are all about love, marriage, money and rich relations, but Austen’s works show their values on reflecting the social realities of her day. As Zhang Dingquan and Wu Gang comment in their book that “her [Jane Austen’s] unique sensitivity to human emotions, her careful observation … made her one of the finest novelists of the age” (202).
Austen wrote six complete novels during her literary career. They are: Sense and Sensibility (1811); Pride and Prejudice (1813); Mansfield Park (1814); Emma (1816); Northanger Abbey (1818); and Persuasion (1818). Her literary works have been attracting more and more readers from home and abroad since their publication. Jane Austen is considered as “a genius that appeals to any generation” (Qiao iv). The British female writer Virginia Woolf said that “[o]f all great novelists, Jane Austen is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness” (Zhu 5).
The work discussed in this thesis is Northanger Abbey, which tells a story of the naive protagonist with a very over-active imagination, Catherine Morland, a Gothic novel aficionado, who treats herself as the heroine of a Gothic novel, takes stories in Gothic novels as happened in her real life and makes many ridiculous adventures, but finally learns to distinguish between the imaginary life in Gothic novels and her own ordinary life situations. Although Northanger Abbey was the first to be completed by Jane Austen, it had neither been given enough attention nor been adequately studied for some considerable time in the past. In fact, Northanger Abbey has its unique research value, particularly the author’s attitude towards Gothic novels, which has aroused more and more critical attention and debates in recent years (see Chapter One).
This thesis argues that Northanger Abbey shows Jane Austen’s anti-Gothicism through her satirical criticism of the prevailing Gothic novels in her times. In addition to Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter briefly introduces Gothic novels, illustrates different viewpoints on the relationship between Northanger Abbey and Gothic novels as discussed by some critics and scholars. The second chapter analyses Jane Austen’s parodic anti-Gothicism by comparing the plot arrangement and characterization of the novel with that of Gothic novels. The third chapter discusses Jane Austen’s criticism of Gothic novels through focusing on Catherine’s ridiculous adventures.
Chapter One
Gothic Novels and Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey is a parody of Gothic novels. The first part of this chapter briefly introduces the origin, development and typical features of Gothic novels; the second part mainly illustrates different viewpoints on Austen’s attitude towards Gothic novels.
I. Origin and Development of Gothic Novels
The word “Goth,” coming from the name of an ancient tribe in Europe, and its derivative form “Gothic,” which reminds people of mysticism, terror, and dark, were frequently used to describe medieval things in the 18th century. According to a highly-popular dictionary, the word “Gothic” means
a kind of architecture built in the style that was popular in Western Europe from the 12th century to the 16th centuries, and which has pointed arches, windows, and tall thin pillars and a novel written in the style popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, which described romantic adventures in mysterious or frightening surroundings. (Hornby 883)
Now it generally refers to a genre of literature, which is “full of depicts of murders and supernatural things to thrill readers” (Han 36), combines both horror and romance and “deals with the strange, mysterious, and supernatural designed to invoke suspense and terror in readers” (Zhao 283).
From the above quotes, it is known that some basic elements in Gothic novels include: setting in a castle, which often contains secret passages and staircases, dark or hidden rooms; an atmosphere of mystery and suspense that arouses fear and terror; supernatural events, such as ghosts or unknown giants coming to human life; high and overwrought emotion, like anger, sorrow, especially terror from which the characters suffer; heroine in distress, which appeals to the sympathy of the readers; and romance, such as powerful love between the heroine and the hero.
The first Gothic novel is The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story, written by the English author Horace Walpole. The work is remarkable because it is the first attempt to find “a tale of amusing fiction upon the basis of the ancient romance of chivalry” (Walter 115) and it “start[s] a fashion and set[s] an example for other Gothic novelists” (Zhang 5). In addition, the novel was “an attempt to blend the two kinds of romance, the ancient and the modern” (Horace 19). Horace Walpole opens the door of Gothic novels and a lot of other Gothic novelists follow suit. Among them, Ann Radcliff and Mathew Gregory Lewis are two most famous ones for their respective work The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Monk. The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), through which Ann Radcliff made the Gothic novel socially acceptable, was an unparalleled success at that time, and was also frequently referred to by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey. In the mid-1790s the Gothic novel reaches its summit, and David Punder comments, probably an exaggeration, that “this body of fiction may well have established the popularity of the novel-form” (David 61).
Besides its popularity among the public, the Gothic novel has a notorious fame for a long time and has been criticized as crude by many critics. In the preface of Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth commented on Gothic novels as:
The invaluable works of … Shakespeare and Milton are driven into neglect by frantic novels, sickly and stupid German Tragedies, and deluges of idle and extravagant stories in verse. (Wordsworth and Coleridge 248-249)
In spite of criticism from many literary figures, Gothic novels still attracted a lot of readers and the Gothic influence was amazingly continuing. “It has been estimated that the reading population of Britain increased from one and a half million in 1780 to between seven and eight million by 1830” (Lin 24), and “Gothic novels have exerted significant influence on the literature of later generations and on every European literature. They have exerted great effect on the American literature, Hawthorn and Allen Poe in particular” (Zhao 283). It is not so hard for us to find out that many works of great literary celebrities bear Gothic elements. In the Romantic period, some famous works are: Percy Bysshe Shelley’s first published work, Zastrozzi (1810), was publicly-known as a Gothic novel; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus (1818); Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) and Christabel (1816); Keats’ La Belle Dame sans Merci (1819) and Isabella (1820); and The Vampyre (1819) by John William Polidori. Charlotte Bront’s Jane Eyre (1847) and Emily Bront’s Wuthering Heights (1847) are also acknowledged as Gothic novels as well as Elizabeth Gaskell’s tales “The Doom of the Griffiths” (1858), “Lois the Witch” (1861), and “The Grey Woman” (1861). Charles Dickens is another mainstream writers heavily influenced by Gothic novels. In his great works, such as Oliver Twist (1837-8), Bleak House (1854), Great Expectations (1861) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1870), we can easily feel the Gothic mood and themes. Edgar Allan Poe was a prominent and innovative re-interpreter of Gothic literature in the 19th century American literature, with his well-known works as The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), “The Black Cat” (1843), and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841).
II. Austen’s Attitude towards Gothic Novels
“The excesses, stereotypes, and frequent absurdities of the traditional Gothic made it rich territory for satire” (Skarda 178-179). As it is universally acknowledged, the most famous parody of Gothic novels is Northanger Abbey. We all say that Northanger Abbey is a parody of Gothic novels, but disagree on Austen’s attitude towards them. Some critics hold that Northanger Abbey offers a refinement on rather than denial of the Gothic: “Gothic elements in the novel are employed to express Austen’s feminist ideas rather than mock them” (Chen ii); “Through parody, Austen revises Gothic novels in a comic way for the purpose of negotiation with Gothic novels, as well as inheritance and preservation” (Zheng 89). However, some others argue that Austen shows her sarcasm towards Gothic novels and emphasizes reason and realism: “[Northanger Abbey] also satirized the sentimental novels, especially the Gothic novel, which was very popular at that time” (Yang 66), and “[the] mock of Gothic novels runs through the novel from beginning to end” (Sun 36).
Northanger Abbey expresses Austen’s sarcasm on prevailing Gothic novels, especially The Mysteries of Udolpho, which has been mentioned several times in the work. With a close reading of Northanger Abbey, we can easily find the Gothic craze surrounding it. First of all, Northanger Abbey shares similar plot construction with the prevailing Gothic novels; secondly, it contains a parodic characterization of Gothic novels; thirdly, they all describe the female protagonist’s adventures and her love romance with the male protagonist eventually obtained. Additionally, Jane Austen adopts a new tactic of writing novels in Northanger Abbey by addressing the reader directly. We can feel the sense of satire in reading the work. The following chapter deals with its plot construction and characterization to show Jane Austen’s anti-Gothicism.
Chapter Two
Parody of Gothic Plot and Characters
In this chapter, we mainly examine Austen’s parody of Gothic novels through comparing the plot construction and characterization of Northanger Abbey with that of Gothic novels. The novel seemingly imitates the construction of Gothic novels, but it actually satirizes their format of developing stories and depicting characters.
I. Parody of Gothic Plot
The widely spread Gothic novels then were sharing almost the same format. A noble heroine, who is very beautiful and intelligent and loves music and drawing, for some reasons leaves her own home to a completely new place, usually a haunted castle, where she experiences horrible and scaring things or being treated unfairly and cruelly. But there often appears an unknown hero who saves the heroine and challenges the villains. They would be together at the end of the story after so many hardships. Northanger Abbey seemingly follows the common format. The heroine, Catherine Morland, leaves her hometown for a new place, Bath, and meets with the hero, Henry Tilney. After undergoing some adventures and distress, the loved ones are finally reunited and get married. However, Jane Austen actually starts making a sharp mockery on Gothic novels from the beginning of Northanger Abbey.
Different from the Gothic heroine, Catherine Morland is a very common English girl, who was born in an ordinary family with her father as a clergyman and her mother a woman of plain sense. She neither had a beautiful figure nor high intelligence. In fact, before she turned fifteen, Catherine had “a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without colour, dark lank hair, and strong features”. Instead of music or drawing, Catherine was a tomboy and was very fond of boys’ plays, especially cricket, and loved rolling down the green slope at the back of their house. Judging by these descriptions, we can see that Catherine’s situation in life, her family, her own personality and disposition are all against a real heroine in Gothic novels: “No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy, would have supposed her born to be a heroine” . Through the characterization of the heroine, Jane Austen actually criticizes the general expectations of a well-mannered gentle lady in Gothic novels.
Then the heroine begins her adventure to Bath. In Gothic novels, the heroine’s parents should be very worried and severely anxious or in tears with sadness when she is about to leave home. Nevertheless, Catherine’s mother was not like that: she just reminded her daughter of wrapping herself warm and trying to keep account of the money, and her father only put ten guineas into her hand and promised more when she wanted it. During their journey to Bath, nothing alarming occurred to them except Mrs. Allen’s having left her clogs at an inn which later on was proved groundless. “Neither robbers nor tempests befriended them, nor one lucky overturn to introduce them to the hero” .
Austen satirizes the expected appearance of the hero to the heroine in Gothic fictions. Henry just appears on an ordinary ball and is introduced to Catherine by the master of the ceremonies in a normal way without any air of romance. Henry, at first, was even partly joking with Catherine about the same routing that young ladies share.
Later, Catherine makes friends with Isabella Thorpe, who is an elegant and fine young woman, and they both consider themselves as old friends. It is Isabella who opens the Gothic gate for Catherine by introducing to her tens of horrible novels; one of them is The Mysteries of Udolpho. After reading so many Gothic novels, Catherine’s eagerness to visit and explore a real castle grows severe. Therefore, she feels extremely excited when General Tilney, Henry’s father, invites her to visit their house, the Northanger Abbey.
Additionally, there is one point we should pay attention to, i.e., Jane Austen has adopted a new tactic of writing by addressing the readers directly. For example, at the end of chapter five, when Isabella and Catherine shut themselves up to read novels, the narrator clearly says that “[novels] have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world” (32; ch.5), and that novels are works
…in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language.
Here Austen gives her own insight of the value of novels, and questions the social prejudice against novels. The directness with which Austen addresses the reader gives a unique insight into Austen’s thoughts at the time. And her perspectives on novels are sharply in contrast with that of popular writers, especially the Gothic novelists of the time.
II. Parody of Gothic Characters
According to the common rule, Gothic novels not only have a set format in plot construction, but also share the same characterization. Below are some classified major characters around the heroine in Gothic novels: an aunt or another older woman of envy; a hero with an air of mystery; a female friend harbors evil intentions; a villain who is always bothering the heroine; a tyrant, usually cold and vicious, treats the heroine cruelly. We may find those familiar archetypes in Northanger Abbey as well, but we can also find a clear difference between them.
First of all, characterization of the heroine’s aunt Mrs. Allen is quite striking:
It is now expedient to give some description of Mrs. Allen, that the reader may be able to judge, in what manner her actions will hereafter tend to promote the general distress of the work, and how she will, probably, contribute to reduce poor Catherine to all the desperate wretchedness of which a last volume is capable C whether by her imprudence, vulgarity, or jealousy C whether by intercepting her letters, ruining her character, or turning her out of doors. (11; ch.2)
In Gothic novels, the heroine’s misfortune is partly caused by her aunt’s evil jealousy, but in Northanger Abbey, Mrs. Allen is not that evil or blood-hearted to Catherine. Mrs. Allen may truly be a little vulgar and careless. She has a great passion in dress and “had a most harmless delight in being fine; and our heroine’s entrée into life could not take place till after three or four days had been spent in learning what was mostly worn” (12; ch.2). We may say that she doesn’t fulfill her responsibilities as a senior companion by carefully and whole-heartedly looking after Catherine, but we cannot say that she shows an evil or jealousy towards Catherine. She has nothing to do with what happened to our heroine later on, and this is entirely ironic when compared with the usual Gothic aunt.
In addition, Henry Tilney is different from the hero in Gothic novels. Generally speaking, a Gothic hero must at first be mysterious about his identity and later found born in the purple. But Henry was no mystery since his appearance in the novel. At the very night when they met, Mr. Allen learnt that he was “a clergyman, and of a very respectable family in Gloucestershire” (23; ch.3). Moreover, Henry Tilney didn’t fall in love with Catherine at the first sight nor did he ever hold a strong affection for her, which was really weird for supposed Gothic readers because “no young lady can be justified in falling in love before the gentleman’s love is declared” (23; ch.3). As for why Henry finally fell in love with Catherine, the narrator said:
I must confess that his affection originated in nothing better than gratitude, or, in other words, that a persuasion of her partiality for him had been the only cause of giving her a serious thought. It is a new circumstance in romance…and dreadfully derogatory of a heroine’s dignity. (284; ch.30)
Apart from Mrs. Allen and Henry Tilney, there are three other negative protagonists: Isabella Thorpe, John Thorpe, and General Tilney. Although there are flaws in their personalities, they are never those Gothic villains who are extremely sinister or treacherous. Isabella was beautiful but a selfish and pitiful young lady who always wanted to marry a rich man. Like his sister, John Thorpe was merely a vulgar and imprudent young man and was always trying to be handsome and gentle. The only bad thing he has done to Catherine was telling General Tilney that Catherine was not at all rich so that the General angrily pushed Catherine out of Northanger Abbey. General Tilney was a money-driven man with a very strict sense of family status and wanted all his children to marry rich families. These three negative characters were never set up, or threatened, or tried to murder Catherine, they were quite unlike those vicious villains in Gothic novels.
Chapter Three
Catherine’s Adventures
We have discussed the differences of plot construction and characterization between Northanger Abbey and Gothic novels in the preceding chapter. In the last chapter, we are going to take a closer look at the heroine’s adventures in Northanger Abbey, the estate of the Tilneys’, which is the climax of the novel and through which Jane Austen shows us the absurdness of Gothic novels and the significance of real life.
I. On the Way to Northanger Abbey
During their journey to Northanger Abbey, Henry Tilney deliberately makes fun of Catherine’s innocent belief in Gothic novels, and says to her: “[a]nd are you prepared to encounter all the horrors that a building such as ‘what one reads about’ may produce? C Have you a stout heart? C Nerves fit for sliding panels and tapestry?” (178; ch.20). Henry also jokingly describes some horrible scenes to Catherine, such as “an apartment never used since some cousin or kin died in it about twenty years before,” or “gloomy chamber … with only the feeble rays of a single lamp … walls hung with tapestry exhibiting figures as large as life, and the bed, of dark green stuff or purple velvet, presenting even a funeral appearance” (179; ch.20). In fact, Catherine Morland was already very eager to take her adventures in the abbey though she said to Henry that she shouldn’t be easily frightened and thought the abbey has never been inhabited and left deserted for years.
As they drew near the abbey, Catherine’s impatience for a look at the abbey grew, and in accordance with her novel reading, she thought Northanger Abbey, by its name, as a place with “massy walls of grey stone, rising amidst a grove of ancient oaks, with the last beam of the sun playing in beautiful splendour on its high Gothic windows” (182; ch.20). But to her disappointment, the building stands too low and even without an antique chimney for her to discern. What’s more, unlike those heroines in Gothic novels, she just passes between modern lodges and “along a smooth, level road of fine gravel, without obstacle, alarm or solemnity of any kind, struck her as odd and inconsistent” (183; ch.20). General Tilney Eleanor, Henry’s sister, are waiting to welcome her on the hall, and she is shown into a common drawing-room where the furniture is in elegance of modern taste and panes of the pointed arch, which Catherine hoped them to be the heaviest stonework and painted glass with dirt and cobwebs, are, on the contrary, large, clear, and light. The abbey is just a modern family house with large and lofty hall, broad staircase of shining oak, long wide gallery, ect., and the people are all so friendly that she can’t feel any awful future misery that would happen to herself like what those heroines usually undergo in Gothic novels. The difference between her imagination and the abbey’s real condition is very distressing for Catherine.
II. Three Adventures in Northanger Abbey
Although feeling a little disappointed at the first sight on Northanger Abbey, out of her imagination, Catherine was delightful to be really in an abbey and began her imagined Gothic adventures with her observation.
When she was alone in her apartment, Catherine found that the walls, the floor, the windows, and the furniture were all handsome and comfortable which made her at ease. But she decided to lose no time in examining anything strange and she suddenly noticed a large high chest that was standing on the back in a deep recess of the fire-place. The sight of the chest made Catherine forget everything else, and she stood still, just gazing at it and wondering: “This is strange indeed! … An immense heavy chest! C What can it hold? C Why should it be placed here? … I will look into it C cost me what it may” (187; ch.21). Driven by curiosity, she advanced and examined the chest closely. The chest was made of cedar, inlaid with some darker wood, and raised on a carved stand of the same, with a rusty silver lock and broken silver handles. With trembling hands and great difficulty as well, she finally raised up the lid, but to her astonishment, there was only a white cotton counterpane that was “properly folded, reposing at one end of the chest in undisputed possession” (188; ch.21). Catherine felt blushed at the sight of it but she didn’t lose her heart for more fascinating adventures.
The first night in Northanger Abbey was stormy, the wind blew strongly the whole afternoon, and it rained violently. Those characteristic sounds brought to her the dreadful situations and horrible scenes in Gothic novels, and for the first time she felt she was really in an Abbey. But Catherine knew that she had nothing to dread from or to explore or to suffer because the house was “so furnished, and so guarded” (191; ch.21). However, she still looked around the room and courageously but fearfully peeped behind each curtain, hoping to see someone sitting there to scare her or a hand placed against the shutter. However, there was nothing. Then she was thinking to go to bed. At that moment, a mysterious cabinet appeared and suddenly captivated her eyes. It was a high, old-fashioned black cabinet, being placed in a conspicuous situation and thus escaped from her notice. The cabinet, with its key in the door, aroused her great interest and she could not sleep till she had examined it. Catherine placed the candle on a chair with caution and tried to turn the key “with a very tremulous hand” (192; ch.21). At first, she thought there could be nothing in it, and she did find nothing after checking the double range of drawers. But later, she surprisingly found a roll of paper inside a small door in the center of the cabinet. At that moment, “[her] heart fluttered, her knees trembled, and her cheeks grew pale” (194; ch.21) as she thought that the paper was some precious manuscript and grasped tightly in her unsteady hand. As she snuffed the candle and was about to read the paper, the candle suddenly extinguished. For a few moments, Catherine felt awful with horror and “trembled from head to foot” (194; ch.21). She hastily jumped onto bed and kept wondering “how was it [the manuscript] to be accounted for? C What could it contain? C to whom could it relate?” (195; ch.21). When she woke up only to find that many papers were just washing-bills, she felt humbled to the dust: “Nothing could now be clearer than the absurdity of her recent fancies” (197; ch.22).
After two adventures in vain, Catherine seemed to become a little sober. However, when she heard about the death of Henry and Eleanor’s mother, and none of the three children was at home and only General Tilney was with Mrs. Tilney, her imagination, which was heavily influenced by Gothic novels, began to exercise. She thought General Tilney was just like Montoni, the prototypical Gothic villain in The Mysteries of Udolpho, who imprisoned the heroine Emily and his wife Madame Cheron in Udolpho with an attempt to acquire their fortune. Catherine believed that General Tilney was cold, pitiless, and cruel; and that he had murdered his wife and probably imprisoned her in some hidden chamber somewhere in Northanger Abbey. So despite two failures before, Catherine once more felt shocked and chilled at the thought of the guilty scene of murder and imprisonment. She remembered that there was a forbidden gallery where lay the doors “of which the General had given no account” (217; ch.23). She thought firmly that unfortunate Mrs. Tilney’s confinement must be one of them, and she was so eager to examine those mysterious apartments.
One morning, the General’s early walk has provided Catherine a favorable time when she proposed to Miss Tilney to show her mother’s portrait and apartment. But when they were just about to turn the lock with fearful caution, “the dreaded figure” (221; ch.23) of General Tilney himself suddenly stood before them and he loudly and angrily ordered Eleanor to come with him, leaving Catherine stay in her own room for safety. As a brave reflection of the morning’s experience, Catherine became resolute to make her second detection on the forbidden door alone because she thought “the examination itself would be more satisfactory if made without any companion” (222; ch.23). She was finally alone and got the time to carry out her adventure. She quietly slipped through the folding doors and tip-toed into the room; before her was “a large, well-proportioned apartment” (223; ch.24), warm and neat, like the most comfortable apartment in the house, with nothing extraordinary, anywhere but ancient, gloomy, and awful place for imprisonment. Catherine felt a sense of bitter emotions of shame and her heart was sick of its folly. What’s worse, Henry just came back at that moment and surprisingly ran across her in his mother’s room. On hearing Catherine’s suspicion of his mother’s death, Henry angrily and firmly informed her that Mrs. Tilney died of a sudden malady after being carefully treated by a respectable physician, and that his father, General Tilney, loved his wife sincerely in his own way and was greatly afflicted by her death. Being criticized by Henry for her wild and ridiculous ideas, Catherine then felt extremely depressed and ran into her room with tears of shame.
III. Catherine’s Coming back to Reality
Before coming into Northanger Abbey, Catherine thought it might be a haunted place full of horror and danger, but after her three so-called “Gothic adventures” were all proved in vain and was mildly criticized by beloved Henry, she finally realized how foolish she had been and came to believe that the contents of those Gothic novels have nothing to do with human being’s everyday life. Here Jane Austen shows her satire on Gothic novels and her sarcasm may be illustrated much more clearly through Henry’s words:
Dear Miss Morland, consider the dreadful nature of the suspicions you have entertained. What you have been judging from? Remember the country and the age in which we live. Remember that we are English, that we are Christians. Consult your own understanding, your own sense of the probable, your own observation of what is passing around you―Does our education prepare us for such atrocities? Do our laws connive at them? Could they be perpetrated without being known, in a country like this, where social and literary intercourse is on such a footing; where every man is surrounded by a neighbourhood of voluntary spies, and where roads and newspapers lay everything open? (228-229; ch.24)
We may see Henry as the spokesman of Jane Austen and his words as Austen’s anti-Gothic manifesto to the prevailing Gothic novels and her mockery at their absurdity and remoteness from our daily life and the dangers resulted from Gothic-craze.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is obvious that Northanger Abbey shows Jane Austen’s anti-Gothicism by her parody of the plot, characterization and adventure of the prevailing Gothic novels in her times. In Northanger Abbey, Austen deliberately imitates the Gothic format of plot arrangement, the characterization and the description of heroine’s adventures, but makes them very different, or the opposite to those in the Gothic fiction in her own style. The heroine Catherine Morland is what she is not, neither beautiful nor destined for a fantastic fate, and her crazy love for Gothic novels, in particular, makes her the typical representative of the ordinary readers. Catherine was at first an innocent and simple-minded girl, but after reading The Mysteries of Udolpho and many other Gothic novels introduced by Isabella Thorpe, she took Northanger Abbey as the imagined Udolpho. At the abbey Catherine had her imagined Gothic adventures and undergone some unpleasant experiences resulted from her ridiculous adventures. Fortunately, she finally learnt her lesson and got out of her Gothic illusions and she has indeed become the true heroine by the end of the story. Through the heroine’s back to real life, Austen shows us the dangerous and ridiculous confusion between ordinary life and Gothic imagination, and the importance of being realistic and reasonable.
Works Cited
Austen-Leigh, James Edward. A Memoir of Jane Austen. Oxford: Clarendon P, 1926.
Chen, Jingzhen. “An Analysis of Northanger Abbey from the Perspective of Gothic Feminism.” Diss. Jiangxi Normal U, 2008.
David, Punder. The Literature of Terror. London: Longman, 1980.
Han, Jiaming. [韩加明], 简论哥特小说的产生和发展 [J]. 外国文学研究, 1 (2000): 36-41.
Horace, Walpole. The Preface to The Castle of Otranto. London: Collier-Macmillan, 1971.
Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary. 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.
Lefroy, Helen. [勒弗罗伊], 简・奥斯丁 [M]. 木点译. 北京: 外语教育与研究出版社, 2001.
Lin, Jian. “Gothic Historical Tradition and Realistic Significance in Northanger Abbey.” Diss. Shanghai International Studies U, 2006.
Liu, Bingshan. A Short History of English Literature. Zhengzhou: Henan People P, 2007.
Natalie, Tyler. The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense and Sensibility. New York: Viking P, 1999.
Qiao, Xiang. “An Analysis of Jane Austen and Her Novels.” Diss. Inner Mongolia U, 2004.
Skarda, Patricia. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural. New York: Viking P, 1986.
Sun, Zhili. [孙致礼], 论《诺桑觉寺》的反哥特意向(上) [J]. 解放军外国语学院院报, 2 (1988): 35-38.
Walter, Scott. Introduction to The Castle of Otranto. London: Collier-Macmillan, 1971.
Wordsworth and Coleridge. Lyrical Ballads. Ed. R. L. Brett and A. R. Jones. London: Routledge, 1986.
Yang, Yong. [杨勇], 丧钟为哥特小说而鸣 [J]. 阜阳师范学院学报(社会科学版), 6 (2004): 65-66.
Zhang, Dingquan, and Wu Gang. A New Concise History of English Literature. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education P, 2002.
Zhang, Linlin. “A Charming Flower of Terror and Beauty: An Analysis of the Influence of the Gothic Novel on Some of Keats’ Narrative Poems.” Diss. Hebei U, 2003.
Zhao, Hongying. [赵红英], 英国文学简史学习指南 [M]. 北京: 中国传媒大学出版社, 2006.
Zheng, Baiqing. [郑柏青], 文本的回溯: 论《诺桑觉寺》中戏仿的反思性 [J]. 解放军外国语学院院报, 6 (2008): 89-93.
Zhu, Hong. [朱虹], 奥斯丁研究 [M]. 北京: 中国文联出版公司, 1985.
文档为doc格式
