Образ авантюристки в романе Дафны дю Морье «Мери Энн»

Abstract

The study aims to determine psychological techniques in providing insight into the female image in Daphne du Maurier’s novel “Mary Anne” (1954). The protagonist of the work is a real historical figure, the writer’s great-grandmother Mary Anne Clarke. The story of Mary Anne, a famous courtesan, favourite of the King’s brother, the Duke of York, as narrated by Daphne du Maurier is a realisation of the manipulation plot. Daphne du Maurier presents a fascinating story of the dependence of England’s political system in the late XVIII century - the early XIX century on a woman’s gamble. Court intrigues and political feuds are skillfully woven into the narrative of the rise and fall of Mary Anne. Scientific originality of the study is determined in the research methodology. The researcher identifies the specifics of the author’s style in the presentation of historical material in the genre of fiction. The correlation of the historical and the literary forms the basis of philological analysis. As a result of the study, it has been proved that the absence of a subjectively marked unambiguous understanding of a woman’s role in society in women’s writing makes it possible for the author to present an assessment of one and the same historical fact from different angles. The same purpose is served by the interweaving of narrative elements inherent in the detective genre into the traditional manipulation plot. The change of semantic dominants in the text allows Daphne du Maurier to reproduce a unique literary image that is far from unambiguous interpretation.