Fragmentation as a Way of Representing a Person in T. Morrison's Novel “Beloved”

Abstract

Introduction. The purpose of this article is to study the method of human fragmentation through consideration of the bodily metaphors used by the author, as well as the construction of key models of metaphorical transfers based on the material of the novel “Beloved" by T. Morrison. The scientific novelty of the study is determined by the fact that up to now no attempts have been made to conduct a cognitive-semantic study of bodily metaphors in T. Morrison's novel "Beloved". The relevance of the study causes an increase in the interest of linguists in the study of metaphors in a literary text within the framework of semantic and cognitive approaches.Methodology and sources. The article provides a semantic-cognitive analysis of bodily metaphors, highlights the key denotations of the target domain and the source domain of the metaphoric mapping. A connection is revealed between the nature of metaphors and the main theme of the work – the theme of slavery and its destructive influence on human life.Results and discussion. Among the denotations of the target domain, 7 key elements were found involved in creating models of bodily metaphors: eyes, head, heart, back, hands, fingers, skin. Based on the data obtained, 26 metaphorical models were built. The target domain of the eye (6), back (5) and skin (5) has the largest number of denotations of the source domain.Conclusion. The study showed that bodily metaphors are actively used by the author when describing a person. The method of fragmentation helps to reveal the features of the destructive impact of slavery on a person's personality. Replacing a holistic representation of a person with a fragmented one, T. Morrison singles out in the appearance of each of the characters acting in the novel those fragments of the body that most characterize the personality and fate of each of them, and through metaphorization endows these fragments with a special symbolic meaning.