The image of the world as a stage in Th. Mann’s short story “The Clown”
Belyakov Dmitry Aleksandrovich, Somova Elena Viktorovna, Chernova Iuliia Vladimirovna
Moscow State Linguistic University
Moscow State Linguistic University; Russian State University named after A. N. Kosygin (Technology. Design. Art)
Submitted: 12.07.2023
Abstract. The study aims to determine the place and significance of the image of the world as a stage, as well as that of the persona as a philosophical, ethical and aesthetic category in the artistic world of Th. Mann’s short story, thereby contributing to the multifaceted perception of the writer’s poetics. The paper analyses the image of the world as a stage in Th. Mann’s short story “The Clown”. The scientific originality of the study is accounted for by the lack of research on the problem of theatricality, personas and social roles in Th. Mann’s creative work. The device of mise-en-scénes and descriptions resembling stage directions used by the author are of particular interest when analysing the short story by the classic of German literature. The results showed that the category of theatricality is an important characteristic of the text, which allows identifying the features of the artistic construction of the work and its artistic devices. Theatricality in Thomas Mann’s short story “The Clown” is realised in two aspects: problem-thematic and poetological. The first one is directly related to Shakespeare’s metaphor “All the world’s a stage”, while the second one is linked to the “tridimensionality” of the structure implying the presence of a director – an actor – a spectator. The narrator protagonist is a director, an actor and also a spectator, and therefore, the ideas about life are shifting. In addition, theatricality underlies the ironic structure of the short story, that is, a “double mockery” is presented to the reader: on the one hand, it is a criticism of the burgher world through the eyes of an artist, on the other hand, a criticism of the aesthete through the eyes of a burgher.
Key words and phrases: Томас Манн, новелла «Паяц», образ мира-театра, категория театральности, ироническая структура новеллы, теория масок и социальных ролей, Thomas Mann, short story “The Clown”, image of the world as a stage, category of theatricality, ironic structure of the short story, theory of personas and social roles
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