Ekphrasis and Its Functions in The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Occupation: Assistant Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Nizhny Novgorod)
Affiliation: National Research University Higher School of Economics (Nizhny Novgorod)
Address: Russian Federation, Nizhny Novgorod

Journal name

Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka

Edition

Volume 80 Issue 3

Pages

78-86

Abstract

The article discusses the actualization of pictorial ekphrasis in Donna Tartt’s novel “The Goldfinch”. The description starts with an overview of previous scholarly studies in order to show the evolution of the term through time. To illustrate the prominent role ekphrasis plays in the text, the various examples are adduced. Classifications of ekphrastic functions offered by M. Rubins, E. Postnova, and N. Bochkareva help us to point out the huge impact the canvas by Karel Fabricius has upon the life of the main character, its special value within the genre of the Bildungsroman, and the key role of the ekphrasis in sustaining the novel’s narrative. Our analysis of the ways ekphrastic passages function in “The Goldfinch” helps to reveal that the text contains not only verbalizations of the visual image and not only authorial interpretation of this image, but also a complicated set of meanings related to the mysterious canvas that informs the whole novel. Among the discussed functions there are prophetic, compositional, characterological, metapoetic, chronotopic, genre-forming, and didactic.

Keywords

ekphrasis, “Goldfinch”, Tartt, Decker, Bildungsroman

Received

27.06.2021

Publication date

27.06.2021

Number of characters

26123

Cite

GOST	Fomina E. Ekphrasis and Its Functions in “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt // Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka – 2021. – V. 80. – Issue 3 C. 78-86 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://izv-oifn.ru/S241377150015626-1-1 (circulation date: 25.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S241377150015626-1
MLA	Fomina, Ekaterina M "Ekphrasis and Its Functions in “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt." Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka 80.3 (2021):78-86. DOI: 10.31857/S241377150015626-1
APA	Fomina E. (2021). Ekphrasis and Its Functions in “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka 80(3), pp.78-86 DOI: 10.31857/S241377150015626-1

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