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6ФИЛОЛОГИЯ
(шифр научной специальности: 10.02.19)
Научная статья УДК 81
doi: 10.18522/2070-1403-2021-88-5-107-110
ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКИЙ ПОРТРЕТ КОНФЛИКТНОЙ ЛИЧНОСТИ В АНГЛИЙСКОМ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОМ ДИСКУРСЕ
© Екатерина Анатольевна Редкозубова
Южный федеральный университет. г. Ростов-на-Дону, Россия kateredkozubova@mail.ru
Аннотация. Предлагается анализ психологического портрета героя конфликтного типа личности. Выясняются авторские тактики и стратегии, направленные на создание портрета такого типа героя. Рассматриваются языковые средства создания психологического портрета конфликтных мужских и женских образов. Ключевые слова: художественный дискурс, английский язык, психологический портрет. Для цитирования: Редкозубова Е.А. Психологический портрет конфликтной личности в английском художественном дискурсе // Гуманитарные и социальные науки. 2021. Т. 88. №5. С. 107-110. doi: 10.18522/20701403-2021-88-5-107-110
PHILOLOGY
(specialty: 10.02.19)
Original article
The psychological portrait of a conflict type personality in the English fiction discourse
© Ekaterina A. Redkozubova
Southern Federal University. Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation kateredkozubova@mail.ru
Abstract. It is considered the essence of psychological portrait of a conflict type personality in modern English discourse. It is revealed that the speech behavior of the character and the language tools used by him can help determine his psychotype, trace the transformation of his personality and understand his motives in a better way. The significance of such kind of study is determined by the urgent necessity of theoretical reflection on basic pragmalinguistic problems. Key words: discourse, English, psychological type, communication.
For citation: Ekaterina A. Redkozubova The psychological portrait of a conflict type personality in the English fiction discourse. The Humanities and Social Sciences. 2021. Vol. 88. No 5. P.107-110. doi: 10.18522/2070-1403-202188-5-107-110
Introduction
The discovery of discourse as one of the priority objects in interdisciplinary science can be viewed as a great event in the second half of the twentieth century. The corresponding direction was rightly called a "discursive" revolution in the humanities. The appeal to discourse as the main subject of linguistics in the last decades of the twentieth century was a continuation of the tradition that the great Russian linguists I. A. Baudouin de Courtin and A. A. Potebnya laid down in their fundamental works, which have long become classical, and the linguists of the first half of the twentieth century continued in their research. In modern science, the term "discourse" denotes a stable, culturally and socially defined tradition of human communication. V. Dijk for the first time in linguistic science proposed to analyze the problem of discourse within the framework of communication. This approach allowed us to take into account both structural and socio-psychological, cognitive parameters. In the future, the term "discourse" began to be used by the modern science of language based on the opinion of V. Dijk to refer to various speech works.
"Discourse" is a perfect example of terms whose number of interpretations is growing with each new study and is estimated, according to the most conservative opinions, by dozens. The interpretation of
the designated term is characterized by diversity and ambiguity, taking into account not only linguistic, but also extralinguistic factors and characteristics. The study of discourse is carried out far beyond the limits of exclusively theoretical linguistics or philosophy: the discourse arouses deep interest among sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, ethnologists, anthropologists, not to mention representatives of such areas of linguistics as pragmalinguistics and sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, communication theory and translation theory, and many other areas. Linguists investigate not only Standard language discourse, but Non-standard as well. E.A. Redkozubova examined peculiarities of slang discourse and its types [2; 3].
Many of the above-mentioned scientific disciplines, addressing the discourse, use their own methods of research and analysis, have their own conceptual apparatus, so it is quite natural that the term "discourse" in the modern world of scientific knowledge has a number of fairly firmly fixed interpretations and understandings, since different scientific paradigms allow its use in different meanings. The statement about the polysemantic nature of this term seems logical in this regard. The opinion that in modern science, the term "discourse" means almost anything that a researcher wants exaggerates the real state of things, though sounds quite true to life. One should undoubtedly agree with the opinion that the discourse study at the present stage involves principles of interdisciplinarity and anthropocentricity. The discourse should be considered as a broader communicative space than the text: in relation to the text, the discourse acts as a supertext or hypertext with optional and unaccounted hyperlinks. As a result, it seems impossible to postulate a certain informative certainty in the discourse. Nevertheless, the discourse can be characterized by the presence of certain common topics and certain speech strategies, which makes the "face" of a particular discourse recognizable. The concept of "discourse" explicates the communicative space, immersion in life, which is emphasized in the definition of discourse, it consists in taking into account the entire discursive context. The essence of discourse is associated with the idea of "possible worlds". The discourse is considered, first of all, as a certain totality, a single whole at the level of texts. The presence of this set is followed by the presence of a special grammar, the implementation of a special lexicon, specific rules of word use, as well as syntax. In addition to the above, the discourse assumes the presence of a special semantics. Thus, in the final analysis, a certain special world is understood by discourse. In this world there are their own rules of truth, a special etiquette, peculiar to this particular set of texts. One of the modern fiction discourse peculiarities is richness of psychological character types or psychological portraits. Books by G.Martin are distinguished in this respect [1].
Discussion
The conflict type of personality is characterized by the presence of a certain internal imbalance. The actions of such an individual contrast with his inner state, moral values and attitudes. The personalities of the conflict type are represented in the face of complex characters who are strikingly different from others and who are difficult to classify as a definitely negative or positive type. For example, the bright hero of George Martin's work is Tyrion Lannister. His fate is somewhat similar to that of Jon Snow - they both feel like outcasts, denied by society. But if John managed to find inner peace and his place in the world, then Tyrion's life turned out to be less favorable to him.
The psychological portrait of this character is complex and ambiguous. Having never known his father's love after the death of his mother, Tyrion has the opinion that love - including parental love - is something ephemeral, not given to everyone. At first glance, it seems that this hero has a tough nature, but in fact, behind the mask of sarcasm and arrogance, a man tired of the cruelty and injustice of the world is hiding. Tyrion has a sharp mind and a great intellect. Realizing his physical weakness in deep childhood, he decided for himself that his main weapon was his brains: " Well, my legs may be too small for my body, but my head is too large, although I prefer to think it is just large enough for my mind. I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon... That's why I read so much, JonSnow". For objective reasons, Tyrion got the role of a "scapegoat", who absorbed all the offensive and terrible projections of his father. He was the object of ridicule and manipulation, threats, shame, devaluation and rejection — all kinds of emotional violence techniques that only exist in the sadistic arsenal of narcissists. Having been a victim of ridicule since childhood, he used to not react to sarcastic remarks in his direction. On the contrary, he is the first to start talking about his physique, which makes some interlocutors discouraged.
Even the author, when describing his character, focuses on his appearance, thereby offering the reader to see Tyrion through the eyes of other characters: "All that the gods had given to Cersei and Jaime, they had denied Tyrion. He was a dwarf, half his brother's height, struggling to keep pace on stunted legs. His head was too large for his body, with a brute's squashed-in face beneath a swollen shelf of brow. One green eye and one black one peered out from under a lank fall of hair so blond it seemed white".
The emotional part of this character is of peculiar interest. Since he does not always manage to restrain himself, in his rare periods of emotional outbursts, Tyrion gives himself free rein: for example, repeating a question in a short form indicates a deliberate desire to make his speech more effective and make sure that the interlocutor heard him and got his message: "Do you understand? Do you?" In addition to negative emotions, this character is capable of demonstrating positive emotions (Tyrion laughed) and even shows empathy (Tyrion felt sorry for the boy). From the extroversion / introversion point of view, Tyrion Lannister is an introvert with a keen sense of his own personal space. He gives most of himself to books, otherwise he does not allow anyone around to get to his soul.
The author describes the psychological portrait in the implementation of information strategies (tactics of describing and providing factual information), interpretation (metaphorical tactics) and evaluation (comparison tactics). These strategies and tactics are implemented through the following linguistic and stylistic techniques: repetition; negatively colored vocabulary; short affirmative sentences; irony; metaphors. Analyzing female characters, it is worth noting that in Martin's work the reader gets acquainted with various bright female characters, each of them with her own personality and a difficult fate. Female characters and feminine communication are of great interest and can be the subject matter of a separate article [4].
The largest percentage of female characters belong to the conflict type of personality. One of the most important heroes of "Game of Thrones" is Daenerys Targaryen. The reader meets a very young girl, the daughter of the murdered king of the Seven Kingdoms, who spent most of her life wandering and was often subjected to violence and abuse by her brother, who passionately wanted to get the Iron Throne in his possession. At the very beginning, while introducing this character the author describes her thoughts, which fully reflect her moral state: "All that Daenerys wanted back was the big house with the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she had never known". It was because of his desire to seize the throne that her brother sold Deineriskhal Drogo, the leader of the nomadic people, to get his army of Dothraki. The girl's severe, depressive state can be felt when the author describes the moment of taking a bath with hot water: Daenerys did not cry out. Her state of mind is so difficult that boiling water is not the worst thing she faces. This indicates Daenerys' patience and submission. In this case, it seems that a person of a conflict type appears before the reader.
Despite the lack of opportunity to resist the whim of her brother, the heroine subconsciously believes in the finiteness of this terrible period for her. She believes in the power of her dragon blood and is waiting for the day when everything will change. It is worth noting that from the moment when Deineris gets married, the story of her personality formation begins. From the psychological point of view, at the beginning her behavior is typical of a victim suffering from domestic violence. In the course of the plot development, one can observe the gradual transformation of the personality of Dainerys from a frightened girl to a powerful khalisi.
The personality of Daenerys is rather contradictory. It may seem that she is a coward (this may be indicated by the vocabulary that the author uses to describe her emotional state: Daenerys looked at them all in wonder... and realized, with a sudden start of fear). She obeys her brother obediently, and in confirmation of her submission, one can give the author's description of her condition, in which there is negatively colored vocabulary: She pressed her lips together and hardened her heart. But she obeys her brother until she finds protection and support from the Dothraki, and eventually she even allows him to be killed when he begins to pose a threat to her unborn child. After his death, she reveals herself as a strong, domineering person and announces her claims to the throne.
So she got the name Mother of Dragons, she revived creatures that were considered extinct and with the help of which her distant ancestors once conquered Westeros. In this case, it is worth
noting that when describing Daenerys at the stage of her transformation, the author uses the tactics of metaphor. Describing her action in one of the scenes - She lifted her head - he conveys to the reader the idea that she did not just lift her head as a simple everyday action. Over all those who mocked her and treated her cruelly; over all those who believed that she was weak and cowardly. And the verb lifted emphasizes that she did not just look higher - she ascended above the once oppressive people. An example of such self-awareness of her as a person can be the rhetorical questions used in her speech: I am Daenerys Stormborn, daughter of dragons, bride of dragons, mother of dragons, don't you see? Don't you SEE?
It can be assumed that it is at the moment when Daenerys becomes the Mother of Dragons that she finally experiences the moment of transformation and passes from a conflicted personality type to a harmonious one. She no longer obeys anyone against her will, does not tolerate cruelty in her own direction and, importantly, in the direction of other people. Daenerys follows her life path, and her internal attitudes correspond to her actions.
Daenerys is difficult to characterize unambiguously. She does not show any deviations in mental behavior. Daenerys' distinctive features are courage and justice. She reacts to all her failures properly, perceiving it as a springboard for subsequent growth. However, from the psychological point of view such a success of Daenerys can be considered as post-traumatic growth, which is a transformation of the personality against the background of effective study of the past psychological trauma.
When analyzing this character, it was revealed that the strategies used by the author are implemented through the following language means: the use of negatively colored vocabulary to describe the period before the transformation (a sudden start of fear / she blurted / with fear / wanted back); use of imperative verbs after transformation (Dany demanded); the use of expressive interrogative constructions (don't you see? Don't you SEE?). When describing the psychological portrait of this character, the author resorts to strategies of information, interpretation and persuasion. The strategy of informing is implemented through the tactics of immersion. The persuasion strategy is implemented through the tactics of establishing authority. Conclusions
To sum up, the creation of a psychotype in artistic discourse entails a system of linguistic means selected by the author when implementing communicative strategies and tactics in order to influence the reader and generate a convincing image of the hero. The identification of the author's communication strategies helps to understand the author's pragmatic goals and ideas. The results of this study can be applied to other studies in the field of psycholinguistics and pragmalinguistics. This work can also serve as a basis for further research and possible identification of new author's communication strategies and tactics.
References
1. Martin George R.R. Game of Thrones. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2011.
2. Redkozubova E.A. Types of Slang Discourses // The Humanities and social sciences. No 6. 2013.
3. Redkozubova E.A. Toxic Disourse, Language Ecology and Slang // The Humanities and social sciences. No 3. 2021.
4. Tameryan T.Y., Popova T.G., Redkozubova E.A., Anikejeva I.G., Sedliarova O.M., Solovyeva N.S. Feminine Perspective of Ethnic Business Communication // Espacios: Sociacion de Profesionales y Tecnicos del CONICIT Vol. 40 (Number 34), 2019.
Статья поступила в редакцию 20.09.2021; одобрена после рецензирования 01.10.2021; принята к публикации 15.10.2021.
The article was submitted 20.09.2021; approved after reviewing 01.10.2021; accepted for publication 15.10.2021.
