Abstract

The present article devoted to non-verbal means of describing main characters in fiction. On the basis of a gothic science fiction novel by A. Carter ‘Nights in the Circus‘, elements of character portrayal, namely descriptive, symbolic, and expressive means of non-verbal representation of a hero are analyzed. Their role in rendering the inner-states of a personage is also revealed in the article. During the analysis, it was discovered that descriptive non-verbal means of communication such as body movements and gestures prevail in the text, which can be explained by the fact that emotional state of the character is revealed by her appearance and behavior. The second place is given to expressive and symbolic non-verbal elements describing heroine’s look, intonation, and mimics. Summing everything up, non-verbal means help to understand the plot fully and comprehend character’s inner-world better.