On the Semantics of the Title of M. Stepnova’s Novel "The Garden"

Abstract

The article is devoted to a specific concept based on the material of one of the literary texts of the latest Russian literature. In the novel by M. Stepnova (2019), the concept of “garden” is central and fundamentally important. In the author’s picture of the world of a 21st-century writer, this concept becomes the title of the literary work, conceptually significant in the national picture of the world. In this regard, it was appropriate and logical to analyze the concept, taking into account all the potential inherent in the meaning of the word “garden”, in the broadest sense, especially since “garden” is manifested in many ways in the novel. The concept of “garden” reflects the World of Russian estate life in the 19th and early 20th centuries, captured primarily by L. N. Tolstoy, A. P. Chekhov, and I. A. Bunin. In the literary text of M. Stepnova, the concept of “garden” is presented as a hero, a book, a text, Eden, and is both an image and a symbol. In addition, the concept of “garden” in the context of the novel acquires additional connotations and meanings, giving rise to new associations invisible at first glance. Thus, the semantics of the name appear multilevel because it includes both Western European traditional and nationally determined ideas, which is proved in this study.