Value Concept of BEAUTY in Little Russian Linguoculture of 19th — Early 20th Centuries: A Study Based on Literary Fiction

This paper investigates the specific features of representing the value concept of BEAUTY within the Little Russian linguoculture of the 19th and early 20th centuries, drawing upon a corpus of literary fiction. The study conducts a comprehensive analysis of linguistic means employed to express aesthetic evaluation through the lens of a linguoaxiological framework. The primary data comprises canonical works of belles-lettres produced in the Little Russian vernacular during the specified historical period. The research delineates both anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric cognitive models underlying the conceptualization of BEAUTY. The identified anthropocentric models include: BEAUTY IS NATURALNESS, wherein beauty is construed via analogy with natural phenomena; BEAUTY IS HEALTH, associating attractiveness with facial flushing (the rush of blood to the face); BEAUTY IS YOUTH, where an individual's age serves as a determinant for their perception of beauty; BEAUTY IS MOVEMENT, which attributes domestic labor and gaze to physical allure; and MALE BEAUTY IS STRENGTH, defining male handsomeness primarily by physical vigor. Furthermore, the findings indicate that female beauty has undergone crystallization into the linguocultural type UKRAINIAN BEAUTY, characterized by a distinct set of somatic parameters and traditional attire. Non-anthropocentric manifestations of beauty are represented through the following cognitive mappings: BEAUTY IS SILENCE, BEAUTY IS FERTILITY, and BEAUTY IS MUSIC.