Consciousness and Mysticism in English and Uzbek Prose

British and Uzbek prose share narrative strategies for representing inner life and transcendence, such as spatial and sensory metaphors, perspective shifts, and blending reality with the mystical. Both traditions use these techniques to make psychological and spiritual experience precise without breaking narrative logic. Cultural differences emerge: British prose emphasizes individual introspection and ambiguity, while Uzbek prose ties mystical awareness to ethical values and communal responsibility. The analysis draws on cognitive literary studies, including conceptual metaphor and mental space theory, to show how texts structure inner experience. The comparison demonstrates that literature can model consciousness, making visible and invisible dimensions of human experience meaningful.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper explores how British and Uzbek prose represent the inner life of the individual and the experience of transcendence. It examines psychological and mystical realism not as isolated literary trends, but as interconnected ways of portraying consciousness, doubt, faith, memory, and spiritual awakening. The study examines how writers guide readers to experience complex mental and metaphysical states through narrative form. Using insights from cognitive literary studies, including conceptual metaphor and mental space theory, the research analyzes how texts structure inner experience. The comparison shows that authors in both traditions rely on similar narrative strategies. They use spatial and sensory metaphors to describe emotions and spiritual insight, shift perspectives to simulate thought, and blend everyday reality with moments beyond reality. These techniques allow readers to move between psychological depth and mystical perception without feeling a break in narrative logic. At the same time, cultural differences shape how these experiences are framed. British prose often emphasizes individual introspection and ambiguity, while Uzbek prose tends to connect mystical awareness with ethical values and communal responsibility. Despite these differences, both traditions demonstrate that literature can model consciousness in ways that make inner and spiritual experience precise and meaningful. By combining cognitive theory with comparative analysis, this study offers a balanced and accessible framework for understanding how prose fiction represents the visible and the invisible dimensions of human experience.