Structural Potential of Cultural Models in Narratives

   The article views the anthropological theory of cultural models in terms of narrative analysis. The author points out that the theory in question is a relatively new field of cognitive research that focuses on the interconnection between language, mind and culture and stresses that cultural models are widely used to describe cognitive processes as well as cultural aspects of world perception and interpretation. The crucial role of language that serves to form, preserve, transmit and represent cultural knowledge is emphasized. The analysis relies on the novel «Minding Frankie» by the famous Irish writer M. Binchy. The author argues that the narrative structure of the novel is based on a number of cultural models, typical of contemporary western cultures, and undertakes an analysis of the models «service – client», «parents – adolescents» и «political correctness» («male– female»). It is suggested that these models are elements of a more abstract structure – the cultural scheme «Self–Other» – that is traditionally regarded by philosophy, sociology and cultural sciences as a cultural opposition. Ultimately, it is proved that, being a way of structuring cultural knowledge (compulsory for each member of a certain community) and providing the basis for behavioral patterns, cultural models are also important structural elements of a narrative with the main function being the reproduction of the narrative motif. The interpretative potential of cultural models is specifically stressed. The analysis is done by means of lingua-semiotic, linguo-stylistic and structural methods that reveal the structural and interpretative potential of cultural models and serve to describe a narrative as a source of new meanings. All in all, the undertaken research shapes new ways of analyzing fictional texts.

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