THE CITY TOPOS AS A SUBJECT IN THE GENRE OF URBAN FANTASY

This article is devoted to the study of the urban fantasy genre, in which the city acts not merely as a backdrop but as an active subject of the narrative, influencing the plot and character development. The central hypothesis of this work is that the city’s subject nature is a key genre-defining identifier in the studied genre. The research relies on Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic method, which allows for the interpretation of urban elements in fantasy as symbolic constructions of the «Big Other» and the «Little Other». Within this approach, the city is viewed as a symbolic space that shapes the characters’ identities and structures their interactions. In urban fantasy, the urban topos functions both as the Big Other, representing cultural and social structures, and as the Little Other, reflecting the characters’ inner conflicts and processes of self-identification. The article also explores the historical development of the urban fantasy genre, from the works of Charles Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe to contemporary authors such as Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher, and China Miéville. The contributions of these authors to the formation of the genre and the distinctive features of their works are analyzed. Special attention is given to the specificity of Kazakhstani literature, where the urban fantasy genre is currently underdeveloped. It is noted that in Kazakhstani literature, urban fantasy is not yet represented in its pure form, presenting opportunities for future authors and researchers. Keywords: city, urban fantasy, genre, subject, Big Other, Little Other, psychoanalysis.