The poetics of narrative space in F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "The Brothers Karamazov"

The subject of the research is the spatial paradigm of F.M. Dostoevsky’s novel "The Brothers Karamazov." The relevance of the work is due to the insufficient study of the spatial organization of the text in contemporary Dostoevsky studies. Space in the novel is examined as a structure possessing dual semiotic nature. It serves both as a narrative construct for organizing the plot and as a profound philosophical-religious symbol. The aim of this work is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of this paradigm. The study systematizes various types of artistic space: topographical, symbolic, and psychological. Their functions in constructing a system of images, organizing plot connections, and representing the author's key philosophical ideas are analyzed. Through the investigation of spatial structures, new aspects of Dostoevsky’s anthropological, existential, and theological inquiries are revealed, enriching the modern understanding of his work. The methodology of the research is comprehensive, based on a synthesis of structural-semantic, narratological, and hermeneutic approaches. Within the framework of narrative topology, a comparative analysis of parallel and synchronic spaces is employed, as well as the method of “close reading” for interpreting symbolic images. The novelty of the research and its conclusions: The scientific novelty lies in the development of a comprehensive methodology for analysis and the introduction of differentiation in artistic space into parallel and synchronic dimensions. This allows for the unveiling of the metaphorical nature of space as a means of conceptualizing anthropological phenomena. The main conclusions of the study are: 1. The analysis of parallel narrative spaces enables the contrast to reveal the characters' natures, oscillating between good and evil (Dmitry), residing in hell (Smerdyakov), and becoming God-men (Alyosha). 2. The analysis of synchronic narrative spaces demonstrates that Dostoevsky creates a polyphonic structure, where the dialectic of free choice and the variability of human existence are revealed. 3. The interpretation of metaphorical spaces (the road, the post station, the gazebo) showed that they serve to express fundamental antinomies and reflect the author's reflections on the crisis of family and society. Thus, the spatial organization of the novel is key to reconstructing the ideological complex and philosophical-anthropological concept of Dostoevsky.

F.M. Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov, poetics of space, narrative space, Russian spiritual tradition, chronotope, narratology, metaphor, parallel space, synchronicity