Ambivalence as a Carnival Category in Barry Unsworth's Novel "Morality Play"

Abstract

The article examines the main category of carnival - ambivalence based on the material of the novel of Barry Unsworth "Morality Play", which reveals the features of the carnival worldview, a characteristic feature of which is the idea of the dialogical nature of truth. In the novel by the English author Barry Unsworth "Morality Play", the main goal of the carnival is realized, which is to turn inside out the usual ideas about the world as a reasonable hierarchical system, to turn the usual order of things upside down, to ridicule everything familiar and frozen, in order to through denial, ridicule (symbolic death) contribute to the revival and renewal of the world. During the analysis of the character system of the novel by the English author Barry Unsworth "Morality Play", paired images characteristic of carnival thinking were identified: priest Nicholas Barber - confessor of Lord Simon Damian; Margaret Cornwall - a deaf-mute girl; Brendan - Thomas Wells. Scenes and characters paired by contrast and similarity have an impact on the figurative system and poetics of the novel. The findings suggest that the carnival tradition penetrates deeply into the structure of the novel, affecting the plot, forms a comic effect, preserving the uniqueness of ambivalent carnival laughter.