ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUDITORY AND MATHEMATICAL PRINCIPLES IN A. BELY’S NOVEL PETERSBURG

Zhang Linlin

The article analyzes the meanings of acoustic images in A. Bely’s novel Petersburg. Particular attention is paid to mathematical symbols or geometric figures associated with acoustics. The author of the article considers the interaction of sound, number and line as ‘semantic primitives’: the ideas of the Pythagoreans, absorbed by the theory of Vyacheslav Ivanov, influenced the idea of the novel, in which the semantic role of the names of the characters, onomatopoeia, comes to the fore. The polyphonic picture of the world is recreated not only by the ratio of plot schemes and motifs, but also by the repetition of syllables and sound complexes. It is concluded that the acoustic image is often the initial impulse that predetermines the direction of storylines, the principles of grouping characters, as well as methods of psychological analysis, including through the formation of a special sound ‘aura’ of a character and even a city.

Keywords:acoustic image; Apollo, Pythagoreans; mathematical symbol; geometric figure; music