The image of artist transformation in the author's text of J. Fowles

The article analyses linguistic means of the image of artist representation in J. Fowles' literary works. Concepts of CREATIVITY and FREEDOM occupy the central place in Fowles' picture of the world and, consequently, they are represented in all his works. Three novels (The Collector, The Magus, Daniel Martin) and a story The Ebony Tower were chosen for the analysis because together they form an author's text. They possess similarity both on the thematic level (all of them foregrounding the topic of creativity) and on the composition and stylistic levels (all of them using postmodernist principles of text construction). Study of the author's text in contrast to separately taken texts makes it possible to outline changes within the author's picture of the world, especially, changes of particular elements, such as the image of artist. Stable components of the author's picture of the world are formed by the opposition of a young and a mature artist as well as by the correlation of the concepts of CREATIVITY and FREEDOM. Dynamics is reflected in the changing heroes' attitude to freedom (constantly viewed as an indispensable condition for creativity) and ways of its acquisition. The concept of FREEDOM is represented through the opposition of limited and unlimited space. In each of the analysed works this opposition acquires different spatial characteristics, in accordance with Fowles' intention. The evolution of the author's picture of the world is reflected in the variability of spatial characteristics of the opposition "freedom vs. non-freedom". Moreover, it is observed in the modified meaning of a limited space, which initially represents non-freedom but gradually starts to be associated with freedom. Young artists need to see the world and gain experience to be able to create, thus, they look for freedom in open spaces. Being in a limited space (such as a cave or a cellar) is uncomfortable for them, although it may provide them with an opportunity for self-reflection that enables artists to develop spiritually and artistically. Mature artists tend to hide from the outer world and search for freedom in closed limited spaces (such as a house or a farm), where they can think and create.

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