VERBALIZATION OF THE GENESIS OF SLEEP IN LEO TOLSTOY’S SHORT STORY “THE SNOWSTORM”
G. Tokarev
Gumanitarnye vedomosti TGPU im L N Tolstogo December 30, 2025 DOI: 10.22405/2304-4772-2025-4-29-35 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the narrator's dream in Tolstoy's 'The Snowstorm' is the story's meaningful core, formed through contamination of dream objects with real signs. Contends that Tolstoy conveys the dream's course and phases, with the dream shifting between frames and reality shaping it through visual, auditory, and tactile sensations. |
Abstract
The article studies the nature of sleep in the story “The Snowstorm” by L. N. Tolstoy. Based on the techniques of description and contextual analysis, the author reveals that the narrator’s dream, which he sees during a snowstorm, forms the meaningful core of the story. The findings show that a dream begins with the hero’s reflection and recollection. The author reveals that the figurativization of sleep is carried out by contamination of the dream object and real signs. Leo Tolstoy’s mastery lies not only in the fact that he accurately conveys the content of a dream in its figurative and iconic aspects, but also its course and phases. At the cognitive level this is expressed in the actualization of the image, which acts as a bond connecting the real and the unreal. This image becomes a cognitive platform for the formation of a frame, which unfolds in the form of scenarios in the current time. The article proves that the course of sleep is expressed in the transition from one frame to another, shown in the verbal aspect through the change of thematic groups of words. Reality determines dream: visual, auditory, and tactile sensations are included in the sleeping consciousness. In conclusion, the creativity of dream reflects the appeal to diverseimages and their metamorphoses. The figurative transformation of dream also embodies its chronotope.