The Construction of the Fourth Wall by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: Syntactic Constructions

Aim. To determine how syntactic devices which determine conditions of reader reflection are created and applied in the works of M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin. Methodology. A special approach, based on the ideas of H. U. Gumbrecht, is applied to the satirist’s works. The proprietary analysis of the pragmatic attitude and linguistic organization of the text is reconsidered – the effect of presence , noted by H. U. Gumbrecht, becomes a key aspect. Using the fairy tales “The Nag,” “The Wild Landowner,” “The Fool,” “The Bogatyr,” and a fragment from the novel “The Golovlyov Family,” syntactic units containing temporal and local meanings, as well as rhetorical components, were selected through targeted sampling to establish their organization within the text and their relationship to the author’s needs. Results. The factors serving for creating author-reader communication have been identified, conventionally compared to the four walls of a theater: they require a set (three walls as temporal and local components) and an invisible fourth wall. The latter is represented in the literary text by the author-narrator, who can directly address the reader, breaking it down through rhetorical statements. Based on the research, certain idio-stylistical traits of the writer can be identified: the use of temporal determinants with undefined semantics at the beginning of the fairy tales and novels, necessary to blur temporal boundaries in the reader’s mind; the description of locally limited locations of characters, which can be considered a plot-forming device; the use of rhetorical statements to potentially break (or destroy) the fourth wall; and the writer’s subtle inner psychologism. Research implications. The results of the observations on M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin’s idio-style are an important addition to the study of the writer’s style. The method of analyzing the author’s text developed in this study can be applied to analysis of the works of other writers.