《素食者》中“花”意象概念隐喻研究

A Study on the Conceptual Metaphor of the “Flower” Image in The Vegetarian

摘要: 本文以认知语言学中的“概念隐喻”理论为主要研究方法并结合语料库语言学理论进行研究。首先，运用语料库语言学理论对小说《素食者》中出现的植物意象及其词频进行统计，从中选取出现频率最高且在小说中具有重要象征意义的“花”意象作为研究对象。再从认知语言学中的“概念隐喻”理论三种类型——方位隐喻、本体隐喻和结构隐喻的角度，对《素食者》中的“花”意象例句进行分析，系统探究“花”这一意象在《素食者》中的多重内涵。在方位隐喻中，“花”象征着一种“生命力”；在本体隐喻中，“花”的意象被用来象征“艺术鉴赏力”；在结构隐喻中的“花”则象征着“解脱”。这三种隐喻类型相互交织，共同构建了小说丰富的象征意义，增强了文本的内在统一性。通过这一分析，不仅有助于深化对《素食者》作品的理解，还从认知语言学的角度为《素食者》提供了关于概念隐喻的新视角，也为认知语言学在文学领域的应用提供了新的研究案例和路径。

Abstract: This paper adopts the theory of “conceptual metaphor” in cognitive linguistics as its primary research framework, supplemented by corpus linguistics methods. First, it conducts a statistical analysis of the plant imagery and its frequency in the novel The Vegetarian, using corpus linguistic tools. Among these, the image of “flower” stands out as the most frequently occurring and symbolically significant, and is thus selected as the core subject of this study. Drawing on the three major types of conceptual metaphor in cognitive linguistics—orientational metaphor, ontological metaphor, and structural metaphor—the paper analyzes representative examples of the “flower” image in the novel to explore its multiple layers of meaning. In the orientational metaphor, the flower symbolizes vitality; in the ontological metaphor, it represents artistic sensibility; and in the structural metaphor, it signifies liberation. This multi-dimensional analysis not only deepens the understanding of The Vegetarian, but also offers a new interpretive perspective grounded in cognitive linguistics, providing a case study for the application of conceptual metaphor theory in literary analysis.