Językowy obraz kobiety i mężczyzny w aforyzmach Gertrudy von le Fort
Linguistic Images of Man and Woman in the Aphorisms of Gertrud von le Fort

Summary/Abstract: The following paper deals with a linguistic image of man and woman in the aphorisms of Gertrud von le Fort, a German writer whose dates are 1876-1971 and whose oeuvre is determined by religious inspirations. Reflections undertaken in this paper are related to the field of lexical semantics and correspond with axiological linguistics as well as the latest tend in linguistic studies, the so called theological linguistics. The semantic analysis carried out in the paper addresses the ways in which Gertrud von le Fort categorises and evaluates the relation between a man and a woman in her aphorisms. The author of the paper is interested in the ethics of the poet's utterance as well as semantic properties that create the images of both sexes in le Fort's idiolect. Since the axiological sphere of Gertrud von le Fort's aphorisms is constituted by the language of religious experience, the author of this paper also concentrates on the ways in which spirituality of a man and a woman is represented in the aphorisms under discussion. Methodological reflection focuses on recent developments in the studies on the linguistic image of the world. The author defines this issue by referring to the original concept formulated by Wilhelm von Humboldt as well as recent research conceptions of Jerzy Bartmiński and Ryszard Tokarski, among others. He then relates them to interdependence between literature and the linguistic image of the world. The reflections are enriched by a biographical note of Gertrude von le Fort, whose poetry and prose became a symbol of spiritual rebirth of Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Major facts of the poet's life as well as her artistic skill in writing are presented in the paper. The author evokes Hymns to the Church (Hymnen an die Kirche) that belong to the most important texts of this formerly protestant writer – in which she presented her own spiritual process of moving closer to Catholicism. The author of this paper provides an original input into the studies on the literary legacy of Gertrud von le Fort. So far no studies have been conducted on her aphoristic oeuvre from the angle of cultural linguistics that includes axiological aspects of her idiolect. The reflection proves that the esthetically-oriented language of le Fort is based on the idea of mutuality between man and woman and that the images of both sexes found in the writer's aphorisms are consistent with a popular perception rooted in Christian tradition. Theat is why this paper may become an important contribution to further considerations in the field of gender anthropology inferred from Christian literature.

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