CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS: LIFE IS A JOURNEY IN DOCTOR MARIGOLD BY CHARLES DICKENS
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Plovdiv University Press
Abstract
This paper explores the application of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) to the language and narrative structure of Charles Dickens’ short story Doctor Marigold. It identifies and discusses some of the numerous correspondences between the source domain and target domain which underpin the structural metaphor LIFE IS A JOURNEY, such as THE PERSON LEADING A LIFE IS A TRAVELER, HIS PURPOSES ARE DESTINATIONS, THE MEANS OF ACHIEVING PURPOSES ARE ROUTES, etc. The analysis establishes the rich mapping nature of the LIFE IS A JOURNEY metaphor which might provide an explanation for its being an entrenched metaphor. This metaphor also structures the whole narrative of the short story. The linguistic evidence and the narrative structure reveal the cognitive processes in which both everyday and literary language are grounded.
Description
Keywords
conceptual metaphor, cognitive unconscious, LIFE IS A JOURNEY, cognitive domains, mapping, narrative structure