Metaphorical image “star” and its varied conceptual interpretation (based on the material of the Russian and French languages)

Todosienko Zarrina Vladislavovna ORCID: 0000-0001-7581-1156 PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages of Humanitarian Faculties, Ufa University of Science and Technology 450076, Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Zaki Validi str., 32, room 338 venusjupiter@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Bryleva Roza Filaritovna ORCID: 0000-0001-5204-8709 PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages of Humanitarian Faculties, Ufa University of Science and Technology 450076, Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Zaki Validi str., 32, room 338 rozabryleva@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Vorob'yova Ol'ga Vladimirovna Senior Lecturer; Department of Foreign Languages of Humanities Faculties; Ufa University of Science and Technology 450096, Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Komsomolskaya str., 153, sq. 10 olga_vorob2@mail.ru

 Throughout the existence of mankind, metaphorical images have always been the companions of abstract thinking.  In a modern way, metaphor is considered as an integral part of the linguistic picture of the world, the way it is organized and understood. The range of linguistic manifestations of the worldview is huge, each language has abundant information about the life values of different peoples, about national and cultural specifics. The lexical and semantic layer of the language plays a particularly important role, it expresses the semantic and value parameters of the form of the world. The metaphor and its semantic structure accumulate vital values, historical experience and worldview of a particular people.

The purpose of this study is to study the manifestation and behavior of the metaphorical image of a star in texts of various origins within the framework of a cultural context in Russian and French. The relevance of this work lies in the fact that the study of the rich metaphorical image of a star is important for understanding cultural, literary and ethnic aspects.

In the process of research, the following tasks are solved: Russian Russian and French languages, as well as works of Russian and French fiction, religious texts, to identify metaphorical transfers associated with the image of a star; 2) to distribute the identified metaphorical image into various conceptual spheres; 3) to describe and study common and specific metaphorical images for Russian and French languages.      

Russian Russian and French literature, classical Russian and French literature, and texts of the Orthodox Akathists are combined in a metaphorical context.

The theoretical basis of this study was the works of V.V. Kolesov, V.A. Maslova, V.P. Moskvin and others.

The practical significance of the research is that comparative and conceptual analysis and study of metaphorical transfers, in the frequency of the image of the star, in cultural terms, allows us to study in more detail the mentality and value attitudes of the Russian- and French-speaking peoples. Also, in terms of communication, the study of metaphorical secondary meanings helps translators and linguists to correctly convey all semantic nuances when translating texts.  

The star is the oldest image reflected in many cultures and religions. From ancient times to the present day, people, raising their eyes to the sky, attempt to explain the star symbol, giving it a mystical meaning, which is most often reflected in a metaphor ^{[4, p. 245; 5]}. The imaginative representations of various peoples about the cosmic world are of interest to cognitive science and semantics. In this paper, we have attempted to analyze the metaphorical metamorphoses occurring with the image of a star and combine them into certain conceptual spheres.

A star in the field of physiological condition

Metaphorical transfer in this area is very common in Russian and French literary sources. In fiction, metaphors are often used to describe the physiological state of a person, because they allow you to transfer complex and abstract concepts to simpler and more understandable images. For example, physical pain, symptoms of various diseases, and mental suffering are clothed in a metaphorical form in the author's work ^{[3, 11]}.  

Let's consider the main meanings of the Russian noun zvezda and the French L'?toile: A cosmic object similar to the Sun, due to its remote location, representing a luminous dot. The clear winter night came; the stars came out. N.V. Gogol. The night before Christmas ^[7]; Tout astre visible, except? le Soleil et la Lune; point brillant dans le ciel, la nuit. – Any visible luminary except the Sun and Moon; a bright point in the sky, at night. ?toiles mortes dont la lumi?re nous parvient encore.  Il y a des ?toiles si ?loign?es de la Terre que leur lumi?re n'est pas encore parvenue jusqu'? nous  Dead stars whose light still reaches us. (There are stars located so far from Earth that their light has not yet reached us.) Chateaubriand ^[8]. When transferred to the physiological sphere, a secondary metaphorical meaning arises, where the disease is compared with a star, its physical properties. For example, M.A. Bulgakov compares a syphilitic rash with a marble pattern, which in turn looks like a cluster of stars. Through this yellowness, a marble rash appeared on his bulging chest and sides, like stars in the sky. This is it, syphilis, a real star rash. M.A. Bulgakov. Notes of a young doctor ^{[10, p. 1136]}.

It is worth noting a number of memorable and expressive metaphorical transitions in the physiological sphere, where the authors reflect a palette of painful sensations caused by illness, with the physical property of a celestial body to emit bright, pale, slow, absorbing starlight. The disease is like a star in the sky, sparkling with its poisoned light and leaving behind only dark traces of destruction. M.A. Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita ^[7].  This disease, like a shooting star, overshadowed his life with its pale, slow light. F. Dostoevsky. Idiot. He felt the disease slowly engulfing him, like a black hole absorbing the light of a star. L. Tolstoy. War and Peace. He struggled with the disease as with an unknown planet looming in the distance, like a star poisoning the whole world around. A. Kuprin. A garnet bracelet. La maladie l'avait envelopp? comme une nuit sans ?toiles, obscurcissant son esprit et ?teignant toute lumi?re int?rieure. Gustave Flaubert, "Madame Bovary (Illness enveloped him like a night without stars, darkening his mind and extinguishing the inner light.) Gustave Flaubert. Madame Bovary ^{[7, 8]}.

         As can be seen from the previous and subsequent examples, the metaphor associated with the light of a star often carries a negative message (a star sparkling with poisoned light, depriving it of its power, a star like a black hole absorbing light). It is not surprising, since the very condition of the disease affects a person depressingly and even, it would seem, the phrase bright star in a metaphorical reinterpretation is compared with burning pain and a dark cloud. The disease, like a radiant star in a dark sky, blinded him with its excruciating pains and made him forget about the other joys of life. I. Bunin. Dark alleys. He knew that the disease could be like a bright star invading a person's life and turning his world upside down. A. Tolstoy. Aelita. Sa passion pour elle ?tait tel un astre brillant dans son ciel, mais la maladie ?tait un nuage sombre mena?ant d'?clipser toute sa lumi?re. Albert Camus, L'?tranger (Her passion for him was like a bright star in her sky, but the disease was a dark cloud threatening to eclipse all its luminosity.) Albert Camus. In A.P. Chekhov and Marcel Proust's works "Boring Story" and "? la recherche du temps perdu" ("In search of lost Time"), there is a spectacular metaphorical transfer, where the disease turns into a star and is compared with a meteor shower and a threatening comet, with their physical ability to quickly reach a fast speed and instant combustion. The disease struck him as if, decomposing his body and depriving him of strength, like a star, like a meteor shower disappearing into the darkness of the universe. A. P. Chekhov. It's a boring story. Son esprit ?tait tourment? par une maladie secr?te, insidieuse, rampante, comme une com?te, l'?toile mena?ante dans le ciel de son existence.  Marcel Proust, ? la recherche du temps perdu (His mind was tormented by a secret disease, insidious, creeping like a threatening comet, like a star in the sky of his existence). Marcel Proust. In search of lost time ^[14].

The metaphorical image of a shooting star and une ?toile filante is also popular in Russian and French fiction. The feeling of an inexorably impending incurable disease, emptiness, mental pain, weakness and hopelessness is emotionally accurately conveyed with the help of this metaphorical transition.  He felt the disease engulf his body and soul like a shooting star, leaving only cold silence and darkness. M.A. Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita ^[7].  He felt the light and life leave him like a shooting star, leaving only emptiness and pain. L. N. Tolstoy. Anna Karenina. Her health and life disappeared like a shooting star, leaving only sadness and silence. A.P. Chekhov. A lady with a dog ^{[10, p. 1135]}. Elle ?tait comme une ?toile filante, brillant de toute sa splendeur avant de dispara?tre dans les t?n?bres de la maladie.  Victor Hugo. Les Mis?rables (She was like a shooting star, shining with all her glory before disappearing into the darkness of illness). Victor Hugo. The Outcasts ^[8].

A star in the religious sphere

The origin of the cosmic object zvezda in the Orthodox Christian tradition is connected with the story of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, there is an episode where the wise men from the east saw a star in the sky that announced the birth of a new king, and followed her to Bethlehem, where they found the baby Jesus.  But when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, the magi from the east came to Jerusalem and said: Where is the king of Judea who was born? For we saw His star in the east and came to worship Him ^[7]. According to other sources, in particular according to the dictionary of Slavic antiquity, the birth of stars is associated with the struggle of the Lord and the devil, who threw stones into the sky; stars are the tears of the Lord crying over the world.

In the Russian Orthodox tradition, the metaphorical image of a star is present in religious texts of various kinds (prayer, akathist, biblical text). Here there is a metaphorical transition into the sphere of physical action, where the brightness of the star's light is equated with the image of Jesus Christ and identified with the morning dawn, the ineffable radiance.  The star, the incorruptible dawn, the morning day, the light of Truth, shining on us, Christ God, enlighten our hearts. Starry light, my Jesus, I create You in the softest dreams and rejoice, having extinguished the darkness of passions in Your epiphany ^[1].

It should also be noted secondary metaphorical meanings, where the physical properties of the star are acquired not only by the Lord Jesus Christ, but also by the Virgin, archangels and saints. In the akathist, Archangel Michael receives the name of the star mira primordial (the first to appear in the sky). Saint John the Baptist appears before us in the penitential canon as a multi-luminous star. Rejoice, the star of the primordial world; rejoice, the light of truth and the golden truth. Perplexed, enlightened by enlightenment, like a many-lighted star, the mental East was preceded by ^[1].

Of particular interest is the process of metaphorizing the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, she is likened to a star that illuminates the path of believers and leads them to God. Prayer texts often mention that the Mother of God is a star leading to salvation and eternal light. In spiritual chants, the Patroness is called the morning star, shining in the heavens and enlightening those who seek the truth. Also, in the Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary is compared to a star, which is a source of hope and comfort for all believers. Like a star from the invisible adoration of the Theotokos, all my secret Saviour, deliver me (Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos). But falling from heaven, into the Virgin abode of God, O Most Gracious pacifier, in the temple of the Life-giving Star, save your children who cry out to You. (ibid.). O Most Holy Lady, heavenly Star, rejoice! The light of heaven clothed in you, the star of joy, Mary! Most luminous Star, creation of joy to all who mourn ^{[1, 7]}.

A star in the sphere of being

When metaphorically transferred to the sphere of being, the Russian and French noun star have figurative meanings: 1) fate, fate, happiness, luck. And mom prays for our Danila. She seems to be deeply convinced that all the happy cases of her father depend solely on Danila's lucky star. Mamin is a Siberian. Privalov's millions. Astre, consid?r? comme exer?ant une influence sur la destin?e de qqn – A star influencing the fate of someone Jean Valjean ?tait une ?toile sombre, dont la lueur ne pouvait ?tre ?clips?e par les t?n?bres de son pass?. (Jean Valjean was a dark star whose light could not be eclipsed by the darkness of his past). The Outcasts ^[8]. The metaphorical image of a star in this conceptual sphere reflects a happy, prosperous, as well as an unhappy, bitter life. Note that in the pictures of the world we are studying, there is an expression to be born under a lucky star, meaning to have luck, success in your affairs, intentions. Nejdanov was not born under a lucky star, his life was not easy for him. Turgenev. New.  ?tre n? sous une bonne, une mauvaise ?toile. Avoir foi, ?tre confiant, dans, en son ?toile. – To be born under a lucky star, under an unlucky star. To have faith, to be confident in your star ^[7,8].

  In the sphere of being, there is a widespread opinion that human life is inextricably linked with the image of a star. In this respect, the sphere of being intersects with the field of religion. It can be safely argued that all the scriptures mention the fact that there are as many stars in the sky as there are people on earth and human life ends when its star goes out. In parallel, there is an opposite opinion that the emergence of a new space object in the sky, a new human life is born.     

  A star in an animated sphere

  The image of a star, like many other space objects, is animated, they are endowed with human qualities. A star becomes a being with intelligence and the ability to communicate, experiences joy, experiences various emotions.  He was a hero looking for his star and came across swallow's footprints in the snow, a star instantly burning in a starfall. A.M. Gorky, "Childhood". The star twinkled in the sky, as if experiencing joy or sorrow, forcing the characters of the novel to think about their own feelings and experiences. An old love. Turgenev ^{[2, p. 159]}.

Separately, it is worth noting the image of a star, found in many linguistic pictures of the world, as well as cultures, as a person who has gained fame, a celebrity. Not a single season has passed without some star coming. Chekhov. Live chronology. Personne dont la r?putation, le talent brillent (com?dien, danseur, sportif). A person whose reputation and talent shine (comedian, dancer, athlete). Je songeais qu'il est ?trange que le cin?ma exige de ses ?toiles cet exc?s de maquillage pour atteindre ? nous livrer, d'une figure, la pure essence – I thought it was strange that cinema requires a huge excess of makeup from its stars in order to convey to us the true essence (Mauriac) ^[14].

The cultural component of the linguistic worldviews of the Russian and French languages largely coincide. Secondary metaphorical images are also formed in relevant conceptual spheres (physiological, religious, animate, existential) ^{[6, 9]}. However, for the completeness of the comparative analysis, it is necessary to note the unique metaphorical images characteristic of a particular language. So, in the Russian language we have a specific phraseological turn to grab or not grab the stars from the sky in the meaning of doing or not doing something beyond the scope, to stand out or not stand out with unusual abilities. We swami have not yet had enough stars from the sky, we have worked honestly and conscientiously, he uses his technology and gives twenty standards. Gladkov. The oath. The expression of the star to count is found only in the Russian language ? to be a mouthful, to loaf around; to dream about something for no reason. The Bedouin has forgotten the raids for colored tents and sings, counting the stars, about the deeds of the fathers. Lermontov. Dispute.

In the physiological conceptual sphere in the Russian language, when metaphorically transferred, a specific meaning arises: a bright spot on the forehead of an animal. The horse under him is black, one star in his forehead is white. S.P. Borodin. Dmitry Donskoy. The horse was tall and stately, with a white star on his forehead. Gray hair. Dauria ^{[10, p. 1133]}.

In the French-speaking linguistic picture of the world, we observe the emergence of unique metaphorical meanings in the animate sphere. For example, as mentioned above, a star is a person who has fame, a celebrity. It should be noted that even within the framework of this meaning, a very special metaphorical transfer is born: Danseur, danseuse ?toile, ayant atteint le plus haut degr? dans la hi?rarchie du corps de ballet de l'Op?ra. – A dancer, prima ballerina who has reached the highest level in the hierarchy of the corps de ballet of the Opera ^[8].

After examining the metaphorical image of a star, we came to the following conclusions:

1. It should begin with the fact that the linguistic worldviews under study are full of metaphorical symbols and images. Metaphor has at its disposal not only words and linguistic units, it is embedded in the processes of our human thinking. The various conceptual spheres identified during the analysis give a clear understanding that the human conceptual system is largely determined by metaphorical transfers.

2. The metaphorical image of the star is a universal and multifaceted symbol that has been the object of interpretation in various cultures and religions for centuries. Its use in fiction makes it possible to enrich the text with complex and deep meanings.

3. The analysis of the metaphorical image of a star in the field of physiological state makes it possible to clearly understand the ways of transmitting complex concepts and emotions through metaphors, making them more accessible and understandable for perception.

4. Understanding the significance and depth of the metaphorical image of a star in different conceptual spheres allows you to better know about the diversity of cultures and their ways of expression, as well as to trace the evolution of meanings and values contained in this symbol through the centuries.

The prospects for further research of this issue include a more detailed comparative analysis of the metaphorical image of the star in various sources, for example, media texts.  The study of the manifestation and behavior of the metaphorical image of the "star" in various sources opens up the opportunity for new creative research in the field of cultural studies, literary research and anthropology.