The evolution of the Plot-Motive Complex in the Artistic Narrative of
the Reader

The problem of the article is the question of the nature of the image
of the reader in the literature of different epochs. A method is proposed for
its detection – an investigation of those transformations that the story about
reading in the historical and literary perspective is going through. A definition
of the subject of reading is given, its motive elements are revealed. The subject
of close analysis is the evolution of the motive, which completes the plot
scheme of the narrative about the reader. This is the motive for acquiring (transforming
the reader). It is noted that in the history of literature this motive receives
both a positive and a negative interpretation. In the first case, it finds its
realization in depicting how the hero realizes the hopes that have developed on
the basis of his interaction with the book. In the second – in the image of the
reader’s defeat. Moreover, both the positive attainments and the fiasco of the
reader have in the literature of different epochs the different content and different
visual contours. It is concluded that in the literature of the Middle Ages, which for the first time turned to the topic of the reading person, the theme of
good reading results dominates. Its vivid expression is found in the Confessions
of Aurelius Augustine. Subsequently, the motive of the reader’s defeat comes to
the forefront. This trend is observed in the literature of romanticism, realism,
modernism and postmodernism. The bases for explaining the reader's defeat
each epoch offers different concepts. It is noted that in the literature of postmodernism
another tendency in the image of the reader ripens. It returns the
narration to the vector initially specified in the European literature – the vector
of the image of the positive results of communication with the book. They are
linked to the fact that reading becomes a register of reaching friendly agreement
with another person. This trend is presented, for example, in the works of
A. Bayette, I. Calvino, K. J. Fowler. Also in the literature of postmodernism the
image of the reader changes: it is often depicted as an object of ideological influence
on the part of the text. An example is M. Elizarov’s novel The Librarian.
But the subordination of life to the book samples is interpreted not only as
a form of literature violence over the reader's consciousness, but also as an objective
cultural entity in relation to which direct appraisal judgments are impossible.
This turn in the image of the reader is illustrated by an appeal to the story
of the German writer U. Plenzdorf, “The New Suffering of the Young V.” The
revealed dynamics of the motive of acquisition is explained by the historical and
cultural specifics of understanding the role of the book.