THE POETICS OF GESTURE IN L.N. TOLSTOY'S SHORT STORY «THREE DEATHS»

Abstract

In Tolstoy's poetics, natural bodily manifestations of a person are not just a kind of «lie meter» or an indicator of the level of correspondence of the "external" to the "internal" in the communication process, but a kind of way of recognizing human essence. In this study, it is important to identify the characterological function of the gesture of the characters in the story "Three Deaths" by L.N. Tolstoy, therefore, in this work, the "gesture" is understood as a sufficiently impulsive manifestation, possessing non-directionality and some involuntary expression.

In the story, man and nature find themselves in the same row as carriers of living life. But if a person moves away from nature and separates himself from the "universal everything", then naturalness is erased in him – the harmony of the "inner" and "outer". Therefore, the attempts of the heroes of the story (the lady, her husband, the doctor) to hide their inner feelings are doomed to struggle with their own body, which is characterized by absolute sincerity. Description of the external appearance of the characters – portrait characteristics, gesture, facial expressions – a kind of "lie meter", a means of exposing the hidden "inner". Inadequate external manifestations carry the truth about a person.

The materials of the article can be used in the practice of teaching historical and literary and theoretical literature courses at the university, as well as Russian literature in educational institutions of various levels.