Metaphorization of the Image of Paris in the Memoirs of J.-E. Osman

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of linguistic means of describing Paris in the memoirs of Baron Haussmann, who had the post of the Prefect of the Department of Seine from 1853 to 1870. Based on the text of the memoires the article examines the signs of poetic discourse in a non-fiction literature, expressed in the metaphorization of the image of the city. Among the conceptual metaphors composing the components of the myth of Paris, there are metaphors of Nature (ocean), the metaphor of personification, centralization and the author’s appeal to the ancient name “Lutetia”. The idea of centralization is particularly clear, which reflected the goals of Napoleon III regarding the improvements of the French capital and its transformation into a “State in a State”. The text of the memoirs, on the one hand, describes historical events taking place in the second half of the 19th century. On the other hand, it expresses the author’s ideas about Paris and the author’s intention, thus combining the characteristics of non-fiction with the elements of fiction. The similiarity between the metaphors form the myth of Paris, used in the novels of the 19th century and the metaphors found in the memoirs of Baron J.-E. Osman are revealed. The conclusion about the spread of the myth of Paris to the texts of non-fiction is made.

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