Identifying “Hidden Meanings” in Vanda Rozenbergová’s Book Freedom for Pheasants

Abstract

The study focuses on identifying hidden meanings in Vanda Rozenbergová’s short story collection called Freedom for Pheasants (2011). Being based on the concept of hermeneutic circle, the study aims to identify places of indeterminacy in the book, focusing especially on metaphors. The primary focus is on the meaning of the metaphor of birds, while relying on the theoretical solutions of Paul Ricoeur, George Lakoff and other authors, who have been dealing with this issue. It also follows up on the solutions of cognitive linguistics, especially the theory of prototypes. The study accents the role of metaphors of birds in the short stories, for instance the role of metaphor of the pheasant and swallow, while analysing their function as regards portraying the literary characters.