Developing of cult construction paradigm in John Galsworthy’s creative works

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Kharkiv National Automobile and Highway University

Developing of cult construction paradigm in John Galsworthy's creative works Funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) - FOR 2779.

Abstract

The article is focused on the analysis of John Galsworthy creative works, the paradigm of Cult Construction in particular. The analysis is conducted in the framework of function linguistics which considers text to be an action involving both the author and the reader.

Paradigmatic organization analysis claims to present a model of text perception. In the course of text understanding, the recipient moves from textual syntagmatics (words are lined up in the text) to mental paradigmatics (“subject” images are linked according to the laws of logic and associations).

Text understanding depends on paradigms' characteristics and the interparadigmatic links. The analysis of the text paradigmatic organization includes individual paradigms distinguishing; characterization of the composition, functions, mode of expression and configuration of paradigms and interparadigmatic relationships.

John Galsworthy is a famous English novelist and playwright well-known for “The Forsyte Saga”.

The Cult Construction paradigm does not represent the concept that is pricipal for the author. It rather reveals furthermore crucial notions (morality in fin de siиcle, inferiority of marriage and property laws, nature and etc.).

The evolution of the Cult Construction paradigm may be clearly traced in John Galsworthy's works.

Initially, John Galsworthy concentrates on sensorial aspects, describing cult constructions (“grey”, “black”, “stuffy”, “mellow darkness”, “it smelt only faintly of age and incense”, “cold”, etc.). The author contrasts cult constructions to nature turning this antagonism into life-death opposition.

But the situation changes drastically with the development of the novelist's individual style. A cathedral is described as “very rich”; “these old buildings gave one a feeling”; “a peculiar sensation, not unpleasant”; “the King's English” (Galsworthy supported children learning to speak and write proper English); “it smelt only faintly of age and incense”; “nothing was unbeautiful” and it gives “a sense of escape”. Still accenting the sensorial aspect, Galsworthy removes the opposition.

Key words: concept, paradigmatic analysis, religion, church, cathedral, individual style.

Анотація

Розвиток парадигми «культові споруди» у творчості Джона Голсуорсі

Оробінська М.В.

кандидат філологічних наук, доцент кафедри філології та лінгводидактики Харківський національний автомобільно-дорожній університет Харків, Україна

Стаття присвячена аналізу творчості Джона Голсуорсі, зокрема парадигмі Культових споруд. Аналіз проводиться в рамках функціональної лінгвістики, що розглядає текст як дію, у якій беруть участь як автор, так і читач.

Аналіз парадигмальної організації претендує на представлення моделі сприйняття тексту. У ході розуміння тексту реципієнт переходить від текстової синтагматики (слова розташовані в тексті послідовно) до ментальної парадигматики («предметні» образи зв'язуються за законами логіки й асоціацій). Розуміння тексту залежить від характеристик парадигм і міжпарадигматичних зв'язків. Аналіз парадигмальної організації тексту включає розрізнення окремих парадигм; характеристику складу, функцій, способу вираження та конфігурації парадигм і міжпарадигмальних зв'язків.

Джон Голсуорсі - відомий англійський письменник і драматург, який здобув славу трилогією «Сага про Форсайтів». Парадигма «Культові споруди» не є основною для автора концепцією. Вона радше розкриває важливіші поняття (мораль у кінці віку, неповноцінність законів про шлюб і власність, природу тощо).

Еволюцію парадигми «Культові споруди» можна чітко простежити в роботах Джона Голсуорсі.

Спочатку Джон Голсуорсі зосереджується на чуттєвих аспектах, коли описує культові споруди («сірий», «чорний», «задушливий», «м'яка темрява», «легко пахло віком і пахощами», «холодний» тощо). Культові споруди автор протиставляє природі, перетворює цей антагонізм на опозицію «життя - смерть».

Але ситуація кардинально змінюється з розвитком індивідуального стилю романіста. Собор описується як «дуже багатий»; «ці старі будівлі викликали почуття»; «особливе відчуття, не неприємне»; «королівська англійська» (Дж. Голсуорсі підтримував дітей, які навчалися говорити та писати правильно англійською мовою); «лише ледь помітно пахло віком та фіміамом»; «нічого не було некрасивого», і це дає «відчуття втечі». Усе ще акцентуючи на чуттєвому аспекті, Дж. Голсуорсі усуває опозицію.

Ключові слова: концепт, парадигматичний аналіз, релігія, церква, собор, ідіостиль.

Religion has always been an important cultural concept that is widely reflected in world literature. The Cult Construction paradigm demonstrates general authors' attitude towards religion directly and indirectly and proclaims philosophical positions and basis.

John Galsworthy's creative works allow to trace the development of the Cult Construction paradigm focusing on the most important for the author concepts, e. g. morality, hypocrisy of the middle class, marriage laws, etc. However, religion and faith are not the key notions in terms of Galsworthy's individual style. They are rather means of revealing other concepts.

The aim of the study is to determine the particularities of functioning and evolving of the Cult Constructions paradigm in John Galsworthy's creative works.

According to the aim the following tasks are set:

- define the main components and features of the Cult Construction paradigm;

- establish interconnections of the analysed paradigm and other paradigms functioning in John Galsworthy's creative works;

- trace the development of the Cult Construction paradigm.

The object of the research is the Cult Construction paradigm in John Galsworthy's creative works (in particular, “The Forsyte Chronicles”).

The subject of the research is means of creating the mentioned paradigms, its place in John Galsworthy's creative works and interconnections with other paradigms.

John Galsworthy is a famous English novelist and playwright well-known for “The Forsyte Saga”.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Matthew Arnold, Honorй de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Prosper Mйrimйe, Guy de Maupassant, Anatole France, Conrad, Hudson, Cunninghame Graham, Nevinson, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer and William James had a great influence on Galsworthy's social, political and philosophical views [1]. Thus the main and most progressive to that time views are reflected in the novelist's creative works.

That makes it fruitful to analyse the writer's works in terms of cultural specificity.

The main methodological approach is functional linguistics that analyses text in an act of text perception.

The perception of the text occurs both at the linguistic and figurative-conceptual levels. Throughout perceiving a text at the linguistic level, the recipient reads the words which it consists of, sequentially, one after another: the first, then the second, the third, etc. Words generate “objective” images in our minds. We understand the text if we link all the images with each other. However, the “objective” images, generated by words, are connected not only due to language competence.

Knowledge of surrounding world phenomena provides these connections. And these “objective” images are not connected consistently. The recipient may connect the first one with the fourth one, etc. Thus, in the course of perceiving the text, it is restructured, i.e. there is a transition from words images connected at the language level to “objective” images connected at the mental level. The interconnected “objective” images form paradigms [4].

Paradigmatic organisation of text is text paradigms and connections between them. Paradigmatic organisation of the text is characterised by paradigm composition, paradigm function, paradigm configuration, paradigm mode of expression and connections between paradigms.

The paradigm Cult Constructions is not widely represented in John Galsworthy's creative works. There are a few elements forming this paradigm (“grey”, “black”, “stuffy”, “damp” and “cold”, “a little grey church with a buttressed outer wall, and a smaller and greyer chapel”, “little old grey church with funny pews and a damp smell”, “black, white-veined, with shadowy summits in that half darkness”, “an old, grey, square-towered church. <...> lofty and unwarmed”, “Here and there were figures on their knees; the faint, sickly odour of long-burnt incense clung in the air”, “the scent of incense [and] the drone of incantations”, “mellow darkness”, “It had a peculiar fascination for him, that old dome <...>. The attraction to him of this great church was inexplicable”, “very rich”, “these old buildings gave one a feeling”, “a peculiar sensation, not unpleasant”, “the King's English”, “it smelt only faintly of age and incense”, “nothing was unbeautiful”, “a sense of escape”, “There stood the dome, curved massive against the grey November sky, huge above the stir of flags and traffic, silent in the din of cheering” and etc.).

The majority of Galsworthy's antipathetic representations of cult constructions may be found in his works from 1910 to 1920.

Knoester claims that “time and again Galsworthy contrasts these cold and dark churches with the bright sunlight outside, reinforcing the negative idea associated with the church, almost turning it into a contrast between life and death” [1, p. 47].

The paradigm composition is a system of verbal images that generates a system of objective images on a mental level. Logically homogeneous and heterogeneous paradigm compositions are distinguished. If there is a logical connection between units of text paradigms, then the composition of a verbal paradigm is logically homogeneous.

If the connection between elements of the paradigms is associative, then the paradigm composition is logically heterogeneous. The composition of a paradigm can be motivated by text if verbal images may be combined into a paradigm just in this context, or motivated by extratextual reality if verbal images may be combined outside the text framework [2, p. 25].

The elements of the analysed paradigm are assembled logically. The majority of elements are aimed to create a sensual perception of being in a secret place (at times pleasant, at times unpleasant). The paradigm composition is motivated by extratextual reality, they may be connected outside the text framework.

Depending on the number of functions performed, the paradigms may be monofunctional (performing one function in the text) and polyfunctional (performing several functions in the text).

Projective paradigms (forming image) and conceptual paradigms (defining the concept) are distinguished based on function characteristics [2, p. 43].

The Cult Construction paradigm performs both projective and conceptual functions. It creates an image of a secret place and the concept of church. This concept allows to analyse conflicts that are principal for the novelist (e. g. hypocrisy, double standards, society development). Thus the paradigm Cult Constructions is a polyfunctional paradigm.

The paradigms configuration is the relationship between separate paradigms. It determines the features of their unification into the hyperparadigm of the whole text [2, p. 49].

Unconditional and conditional paradigm configurations are distinguished. The texts whose paradigms are connected by relationships that are analogous to parataxis (paradigms complement each other in the composition of hyperparadigms, form an open conceptual series) have unconditional paradigms configuration. galsworthy literary paradigmatics forsyth saga

The texts whose paradigms are united by relationships that are analogous to hypotaxis have conditional paradigms configuration [2, p. 45].

The Cult Constructions paradigm enters the relationship similar to parataxis. It forms an open conceptual series along with other texts paradigms, taking its part in general criticism of contemporary to John Galsworthy society, representing one of the main conflicts in the novelist's creative activity. Still the part this paradigm plays changes with the development of the writer's individual style.

The connection of paradigms in the text may be established at the language level (lexical and grammatical links) and at the mental level (associative and logical connections), and also at both levels simultaneously [2, p. 47].

The connection of the paradigm Cult Construction to other texts paradigms is established both at the language and mental levels. E.g. the Cult Construction paradigm is opposed to the Nature paradigm associatively and lexically. Galsworthy opposes these two paradigms in his work “Freelands” in the following way: “They turned away from that, passing below the dark pile of the cathedral. Here couples still lingered on benches along the river-bank, happy in the warm night, under the August moon”.

The opposition is created with usage of antonyms “light” (the element of the Nature paradigm) and “dark” (the element of the Cult Constructions paradigm). This antagonism is developing through all Galsworthy's creative activity, getting and losing its intensity periodically, until it loses its tension at the end of Galsworthy's life.

Still Galsworthy is aimed to evoke almost physical associations describing secret places that turn out to be means of antagonism creation. Cult constructions are often cold, dark and oppressing, meanwhile the nature is warm, light and cheering up. Maarten

Willem Knoester notices that “Galsworthy contrasts these cold and dark churches with the bright sunlight outside, reinforcing the negative idea associated with the church, almost turning it into a contrast between life and death” [1, p. 47].

The paradigm Cult Constructions is explicit [3, p. 38]. All the paradigm forming elements may be found in the texts.

Therefore, John Galsworthy moves from opposition of the Cult Construction paradigm and Nature paradigm, that represents life-death opposition, to their juxtaposition in the same terms. Initially, Galsworthy criticises churches and traditional religion in common for fin de siecle manner. “Galsworthy's aversion to institutionalised religion becomes clear from his descriptions of churches” [1, p. 244].

Galsworthy condemns the church in regard to the notions that are the most important for him and society of his time (double standards in reference to premarital sex, adultery; women's rights; war and etc.).

Still accenting the sensorial aspect, Galsworthy removes the opposition later. He “appeals for a renewed and secularised Christianity from a truly humanitarian spirit” [1, p. 245].

The research prospective is comparative analysis of the Cult Construction paradigm in Ukrainian and British literatures for establishing specific and common features of this paradigm functioning. It will give an opportunity for determining similarities and differences in attitude to cult constructions, their part in routine in mentioned culture.

It is hoped that the end result of this study will be a clearer identification of cult constructions part in Ukrainian and British cultures and factors determining similarities and differences.

Література

1. Оробинская М. В. Русская рок-поэзия: моделирование глубины текста : монография. Харьков : издатель Иванченко И. С., 2016. 164 с.

2. С. Есенин и его окружение: А. Мариенгоф, Н. Клюев, Н. Клычков. Сопоставительный анализ лексики / И. И. Степанченко и др.; под науч. ред. И. И. Степанченко. Харьков, 2016. 234 с.

3. Степанченко И. И. Функционализм как альтернативная лингвистическая парадигма. Киев : Українське видавництво, 2014. 200 с.

4. Степанченко И. И. О конфигурации парадигмагических структур поэтического текста (на материале стихотворений С. Есенина). Філологічні студії / за заг. ред. Л. А. Лисиченко. Харків, 2009. С. 328-339.

5. Knoester M. W. Faith of a novelist: religion in John Galsworthy's work. 2006, February 23. URL: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4303

References

1. Knoester, M. W. (2006, February 23). Faith of a novelist: religion in John Galsworthy's work. URL: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4303

2. Miroshnichenko, M. P., Nesterenko, K. V., Orobinska, M. V., Prosianik, O. P., Stepanchenko, I. I. (2016). S. Esenin i ego okruzhenie:A. Mariengof, N. Kljuev, N.Klychkov. Sopostavitel'nyj analiz leksiki [S. Esenin and his surrounding: A. Mariengof, N. Kljuev, N. Klychkov. Comparative lexicon analysis] / I. I. Stepanchenko (Ed.) Kharkiv : Ivanchenko I. S.

3. Orobinska, M. V. (2016). Russkaja rok-pojezija: modelirovanie glubiny teksta [Russian rock poetry: text depth modelling].

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