Fantastic Assumption as a Means of Inner Personage Exteriorization in a Literary Text

Abstract

The article describes the linguistic mechanisms of inner characterization by means of fantastic assumption illustrated by shapeshiftercharacters in Philip Pullman’s fantasy novel Northern Lights and in Sara Hall’s psychological short story “Mrs Fox”. In modern literature, tending towards psychologism as an aesthetic principle, fantastic assumption is used in texts of various genres and styles; however, its ability to contribute to the exteriorization of a personage’s inner states is in direct proportion to the degree of psychologism. In the case of the literary texts under study, a woman’s turning into a fox in “Mrs Fox”, as a means of exteriorization, has more depth and details since the psychological story plot and the allegorical image standing for the main idea (the value of free will) are based on fantastic assumption. The analysis of the story identified convergence of lexical and syntactical stylistic devices and a number of lexico-semantic groups exteriorizing the inner personage. Being the key mechanism of this type of exteriorization, convergence compensates for the dominating role of direct psychologism (interiorization) in the story. In Pullman’s non-psychological novel, fantastic assumption mainly fulfils the external event function. Nevertheless, in some text fragments the dæmon implies the protagonist’s inner state. The language mechanisms of the discussed exteriorization in the novel include the details of the shapeshifter image and emotive vocabulary. In addition, the following functions of the dæmon in inner personage exteriorization were singled out and classified: intensifying the personage’s emotions, including emotions into the personage’s portrait, realizing the internal conflict and the ability to control emotions, as well as highlighting the personage’s character traits.