Legal lexicon in the second volume of Marcel Proust's novel “In Search of Lost Time” (“À la recherche du temps perdu”) “In the Shade of Young Girls in Flowers” (“À l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs”): linguostylistic analysis

Abstract

This article reviews the stylistic functionality of legal lexicon in the second volume of M. Proust's novel “In Search of Lost Time”. By means of general and field specific (civil, constitutional, international, criminal and financial) legal lexicon, the author describes various spheres of life that are far from the jurisprudence – human sensory systems, visual arts, social graces of the bourgeoisie and aristocracy, as well as friendship and romantic relationship of Marcel and Albertine. The article employs the methods of lexical, semantic and linguostylistic analysis. The novelty of this research consists in the analysis of functionality of specific lexicon in the literary text. The author highlights certain types of social relations, which are described via comparison with legal situations, as well as related metaphors and comparisons from other areas of life.