“The Rotten Floorboards of His Thoughts”: Mind Style in the Patrick Melrose NovelsČelhar, Aja (Avtor) Kavalir, Monika (Mentor) Šporčič, Anamarija (Komentor) mind stylesimilepoint of viewcognitive stylisticsMind style is a stylistic framework used to describe how consistent patterns in language project a fictional mind. This thesis contributes to mind style research by exploring how literary similes in internally focalized novels reflect the subject’s mechanism of thought. It is argued that simile is a distinct stylistic device, distinguishable from metaphor which can orient perspective towards the reflector by foregrounding their mental associations and so give the reader a glimpse into how fictional minds interpret the world around them. This claim is substantiated with the analysis of Edward St Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose pentalogy (1992–2012), which depicts the toxic mind of an eccentric and eloquent aristocrat and addict traumatized by childhood sexual abuse. The style of the novels is characterized by a profusion of conspicuous and stretched similes which are the defining feature of the protagonist’s mind style. A detailed quantitative and qualitative stylistic analysis demonstrates how the peculiar form and content of Patrick’s similes reflect the cognitive and socio-cultural aspects of his world view skewed by trauma and addiction.20222022-09-30 07:45:02Magistrsko delo/naloga141473VisID: 509005COBISS_ID: 123636227sl