Khachikyan E. I., Pokhalenkov O. E. The concept of «enemy» in the novel by Lion Feuchtwanger «The Opperman family»

In this article, on the example of the novel «the Opperman Family» by Lion Feuchtwanger, a possible analysis of the poetic world of a prose work is proposed by highlighting the frame structure of the concept «enemy». Referring to the categories of cognitive linguistics makes it possible not only to identify the features of the poetics of Feuchtwanger's novel, but also to understand the coming atmosphere of terror in Germany, the quintessence of which is the concept of «enemy» (it should be noted that the writer witnessed the birth of totalitarian ideology and therefore in the novel «the Opperman Family» he gave a complete picture of the Nazi regime). The paper will consider the main meanings of the concept: a «simple witness of the regime» and an «ideological enemy». The realization of the meaning of the concept «ideological enemy» occurs at the motive, figurative and associative levels of the text of the writer's novel. The study focuses not on the image of the head of the family, Gustav Opperman, who was outlawed by anti-Semitic politics, but on his son, young Bertold Opperman, and his encounter with anti — Semitic attitudes in the gymnasium where he studied. The misunderstanding and subsequent bullying that the young man experienced from Bernd Vogelsang (teacher of the Humanities) led to a tragic end.

Key words: Lion Feuchtwanger, «the Opperman Family», concept «enemy» frame structure motive.

Reference to article:

Khachikyan E. I., Pokhalenkov O. E. The concept of «enemy» in the novel by Lion Feuchtwanger «The Opperman family» // Ivanovo State University Bulletin. Series «The Humanities». 2020. No.3. P. 34-38.

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