Realistická literární postava: (kognitivní) výzva, či nikoli?

This study is an attempt to critically evaluate the contribution made by cognitive literary theory to research into literary characters in general and Realist literary characters in particular. Based on cognitive contributions to research into literary characters, it examines the characters in Realist fiction to demonstrate the validity of these contributions due to their detailed research in comparison with traditional concepts that have emerged outside that sphere. This analysis indicates that cognitive approaches are of benefit both in connection with grasping the mental aspects of the subjects of literary communication, i.e. the authors, the readers and their abstract counterparts created for purposes of more detailed analysis of literary works, and in connection with research into the mental functions of Realist literary characters. Nevertheless, the employment of these approaches appears to be limited to a large extent when we focus upon Realist literary characters as complex semantic conglomerates with prominent social dimensions.