CONCEPTUALIZATION OF INNER TRAUMA/SORROW IN VIRGINIA WOOLF’S “MRS. DALLOWAY” AND ABDULLA QODITIY’S “BYGONE DAYS” (O ‘TKAN KUNLAR): A COMPARATIVE COGNITIVE

Abstract

This study provides a comparative linguo-cognitive analysis of the conceptualization of inner trauma and sorrow in Virginia Woolf’s modernist masterpiece “Mrs. Dalloway” and Abdulla Qodiriy’s foundational Uzbek novel “Bygone Days” (O‘tkan Kunlar). Operating within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff &Johnson,1980) and Emotion Kognition (Kovecses, 2000), the paper investigates how two distinct cultural paradigmsWestern modernism and Eastern-Islamic realism-map complex human emotions onto linguistic structures. Through a qualitative and quantitative analysis of textual data extracted from both novels, the research identifies the dominant source domains used to express psychological turmoil. Preliminary findings suggest that while Woolf heavily relies on somatic, mechanical, and meteorological source domains (e.g., sorrow as a cold wave or a sharp edge) to mirror the fragmented “stream of consciousness”, Qodiriy employs traditional macro–metaphors deeply rooted in Eastern poetic discourse (e.g, grief as fire or captivity within the heart).The paper concludes that these linguo-cognitive variations are not merely stylistic choices but are profoundly shaped by the distinct cognitive worldviews and cultural frameworks of the twentieth-century English and Uzbek socities