2019 Vol. 10 №2

The author analyses the role of the main characters’ names — Lev, Lyuda and Arkady — in the novel Parade by N. Kononov. The multilanguage anagrammatic code is chosen as a research technique: anagramming (in some cases with a transition from one language to an­other) allows the author to identify hidden meanings consciously or subconsciously used by the writer. N. Kononov resorts to language game throughout his novel and shows the connec­tion between the name Lev and the semantics of physicality and personality traits. Describing his characters, the writer uses a number of images: the king of all animals, the cowardly lion, etc. The multilanguage anagrammatic code highlights the connection of the name of the pro­ta­gonist with the two key concepts of the novel — love (LEV = LoVE) and death. Similarly, this code works with the names of Lyuda (‘ludus’ as ‘game’ in Latin; Lev playing with Lyuda — ‘homo ludens’). The name Arkady is semantically associated with death in the expression ‘et in Arcadia ego’. The names of the characters in the novel are the key to the understanding of the threefold structure of the text. The short form of the name Arkady (Adya = Ad (Hell) + I) refers to Hell as one of the three parts of the Universe in the Catholic religion, followed in the text by Paradise and Purgatory. The author concludes that the names perform a text-generating function and reveal the encrypted information inherent in the text.

The story «The Source of Injury» by Nikolay Kononov is as a psychoanalytic report that has a therapeutic effect for the narrator. The characteristics of the three main characters are con­sidered in terms of their alchemical symbolism. This point of view makes it possible to identify the psychological function of each character as a reflection of a certain aspect of their psyche. Ovechin, whose image is dominated by the solar symbolism, appears as a projection of Ego and of momentary consciousness. Olya, who is associated with the images of the moon and air, appears as a projection of the Anima, which refers to the subconscious. The narrator and his character play the role of the conscious part of the psyche abiding behind the momen­tary consciousness. Although the narrative is evidently about a mental illness, a split person­ality in the state of psychosis, it still structures past events and their analytical understand­ing, leading to their strictly individual perception.