【文章內(nèi)容簡(jiǎn)介】 thanger 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 antiGothicism.Chapter TwoParody of Gothic Plot and CharactersIn this chapter, we mainly examine Austen’s parody of Gothic novels through paring 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 pletely 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 mon 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 mon 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” (3。 ). 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” (3。 ). Through the characterization of the heroine, Jane Austen actually criticizes the general expectations of a wellmannered 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” (11。 ). 注意前兩段文學(xué)作品的引文格式要求：（頁(yè)碼。 章）。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, ., 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。 ), 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. (33。 ) 注意文學(xué)作品的引文格式要求：（頁(yè)碼。 章）。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 CharactersAccording to the mon 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