One of the fundamental pillars of Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) is that in any metaphorical mapping, the target domain constitutes a rather abstract concept while the source domain is more concrete. This argument entails that metaphors are unidirectional. In line with Kövecses (2010), the principle of unidirectionality of metaphor simply defines the idea that in most everyday metaphors the source and target domains cannot be reversed. Accordingly, the present study investigated aforementioned arguments in two important works of fiction. The materials for the study consisted of Jane Austen’s Persuasion and John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, and the identification of the metaphorical source and target domains was conducted following the principles of MIPVU. The findings showed a few cases of bidirectional metaphors in the samples. Moreover, some concepts were also identified which had been employed as both target and source domain by the authors. This study might provide some insights into the understanding and analysis of metaphorical language. It can also offer some implications for teaching literature as well as advanced reading and writing to students.

中文翻译：

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小说中隐喻的双向性：英语小说研究

概念隐喻理论（CMT）的基本支柱之一是，在任何隐喻映射中，目标域构成一个相当抽象的概念，而源域则更为具体。这种论点要求隐喻是单向的。与Kövecses（2010）一致，隐喻的单向性原理简单地定义了这样一种思想，即在大多数日常隐喻中，源域和目标域是不可逆的。因此，本研究调查了两个重要的小说作品中的上述论点。研究的材料包括简·奥斯丁的说服力和约翰·格林的《我们的恒星的毛病》，并根据MIPVU的原理进行了隐喻源域和目标域的识别。调查结果表明样本中有一些双向隐喻的情况。此外，还确定了一些被作者用作目标域和源域的概念。这项研究可能为隐喻语言的理解和分析提供一些见识。它还可以为文学教学以及对学生的高级阅读和写作提供一些启示。