The category of seemingness and its representation in H. G. Wells’s short story “The Door in the Wall”

Abstract

The article investigates denominations of seemingness in Herbert G. Wells’s short story “The Door in the Wall” that have not been subjected to linguistic analysis. The aim of the research is to identify the peculiarities characterizing representation of the epistemic category of seemingness in an English short story (novella) as a genre of literature. The scientific originality of the research lies in describing the specific features of the category of seemingness in the novella and revealing its essential significance in the plot-building structure. The research findings showed that the language means indicating the seeming modus are used in utterances intrinsically connected with the major plot-building event ‒ the protagonist’s casual entry to a world of beautiful unreality of a wonderful garden. The study defined a significant role played by the modal category of seemingness in the contexts inherently connected with the conflict that underlies the protagonist’s contrasting views of ordinary reality and a wonderful paradise of unreality. The results showed that the modus of seemingness in the novella considered is inseparable from evaluation, perception and the modus-dictum organization (in Ch. Bally’s terms) of an utterance. The essential role of the category of seemingness in the novella is preconditioned by the first-person narration, presenting the plot events through a prismatic view as unverified and seemingly indefinite.