URBANISTIC COGNITIVE MATRIX OF PETERSBURG IN FOCUS ON THE REALIZATION OF THE MAIN CONCEPTS IN F.M. DOSTOEVSKY’S NOVEL “CRIME AND PUNISHMENT”

Eleonora Sartbayeva¹, Batima Zhumagulova²

¹Ms. Eleonora Sartbayeva, Senior teacher, Master of Art, Kazakh Ablai khan University of International Relations and World Languages, The Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN,scorpio_es@mail.ru
²(Co-author) Batima Zhumagulova, candidate of philological sciences, associate professor, Kazakh Ablai khan University of International Relations and World Languages, The Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN, youmbs@mail.ru

Abstract

The article is devoted to the research of the concept “Petersburg” on the basis of F.M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment” from the perspective of cognitive linguistics and literary studies. The concept “Petersburg” is described as a space-time continuum of the narration in the aspect of realization of the central concepts of the literary work reflecting the philosophical and ethical picture of the world of an outstanding writer. The space-time continuum forms a flow of thoughts and feelings of the personages and reveals a conceptual analysis of crime and punishment in a procedural-event aspect.          
                           
The concept “Petersburg” is presented in the form of the cognitive matrix (according to N.N. Boldyrev) with the sub-concept “Bridge” as a central element of the structure, which activates several significant cognitive contexts (frames of interpretation by Charles J. Fillmore):
1. “Bridge” as a temporal-event division of the narration in two parts: crime and punishment; Bridge symbolizes “the point of no return” to the previous life, “the point of life and death” and isolation of the hero, as well as inevitability of punishment.

2. “Bridge” as a spatial-social division of a habitable environment; the description of the external environment typical for poor people of Petersburg reveals the social grounds for mad ideas of “superman”.

3. “Bridge” as a difficult moral rebirth of the main personage from the idea of “superman” to comprehension of the divine soul of every human being by repentance.
Thus, the cognitive matrix of Petersburg reflects the cognitive structure of the narration in time and space continuum as wholeness. 

Keywords: concept, Petersburg, crime, punishment, space-time continuum, cognitive linguistics, cognitive matrix, the idea of “superman”, bridge, yellow and black colour, disease, odour, noise, poverty, life and death.