The Expression of Emotions in "Frappe-toi le coeur" by Amélie Nothomb

Abstract

Emotions are extremely sophisticated and their linguistic representations are also quite characteristic. The detailed study of the lexical-semantic means of expressing emotions in a postmodern literary text is essential as it reflects the linguistic-cultural specificity of the emotional conceptualisation at a time when emotions have entered literary texts with force. Since her literary beginnings, Amélie Nothomb has explored the great existential questions, and her narration shows great erudition as well as a deep understanding of psychic processes and emotional states. In Frappe-toi le coeur (2017), Nothomb composes a very rich text using dialogue, which has become the main engine of the intrigue and replaces the characters’ actions. This led us to analyse the lexical and semantic means in the direct discourse of the characters, registered in various frameworks ranging from the proper plot of the detective fiction to the dramatisation and autofiction, which highlights the hybridity of her writing, one of the fundamental characteristics of postmodern works.