Symbolic value of anthroponymy in the novel Donna Alba by Gib I. Mihăescu

Abstract

The act of naming characters in the novel Donna Alba by Gib I. Mihăescu is an obvious way to individualize the respective characters and to unmask their notable features or their more or less noble ancestry. In this regard, this paper is a semantic and etymological analysis of the anthroponymy in the above-mentioned novel. The research aims to illustrate the symbolic meaning and literary function of the characters’ names as a way of conveying the message of the literary work. Thus, the names of Gib Mihăescu’s characters reflect the values and multicultural influences specific to the age depicted in the novel, by virtue of the careful selection of the words fulfilling an onymic role, and as a result of the use or phonetic adaptation of foreign anthroponyms.