The Functionality of Language Signs Marking the Health Status of Characters, in the Fiction of A.S. Pushkin

The author identifi es a set of lexical and phraseological markers of the physiological state of man used by the writer; correlates references to the health and ill-health of the characters with the plot and compositional structure of the works; puts forward partial hypotheses about the functionality of the elements of the semantic fi eld "Health and its disorders" and their interaction with other elements of the texts of Pushkin's works.
Consideration of text episodes, in the creation of which words and phraseologisms with the root health- are involved, shows that for the author health is one of the most important vital values.
Although the characters references to health are much rarer than references to images of illness, each such reference plays the role of a switch in plot development. Pushkin does not seek to delve into physiological details, so he does not elaborate on the description of diseases, limiting himself to pointing out general symptoms. References to pain as a sensation are extremely rare in the material under study. The author's manner of deploying the theme of health or its disorders meets the requirements of secular communication of Pushkin's epoch, takes into account the peculiarities of the reader's worldview, helps to engage the audience's imagination, thus bringing it closer to the heroes of the prose.