About the Architectonics of Evgeny Vodolazkin’s Novel “Chagin”

Aim. To analyze the architectonics of the novel by the contemporary Russian writer Evgeny Vodolazkin “Chagin” (2022): to explore the artistic space of the work revealing the theme of memory and betrayal, the ratio of the four parts of the novel, the location and interrelation of its components – images, motifs, themes, associations that make up a special artistic unity.Methodology. The article consistently examines the artistic structure of all parts of the work, analyzes the system of images and the place of the main character in it, and tracks the most significant elements of the plot. In the process of studying the architectonics of the novel, structural, comparative and chronological methods are used. The identification of the author’s position and its assessment is based on the axiological method.Results. The analysis of the literary text showed that the architectonics of the novel “Chagin” is a reflection of the author’s concept of time, which is transformed not only in the memory and fate of the title character – archivist Isidor Chagin, but also in the system of interaction of secondary characters-doubles, which are peculiar mirrors reflecting and recreating the image of the main character. In four parts of the novel, contrasting in the way of narration and internal dynamics, the author’s mechanism of the myth’s appearance in the fate of the protagonist is realized. The intertwining of historical epochs, parallels in solving the characters and actions of the characters reflect the author’s conviction that there is no time, there is eternity.Research implications. The study reveals the uniqueness of the architectonics of the novel “Chagin”, which allows us to make a conclusion about the integrity of the artistic world of Evgeny Vodolazkin, the unity of aesthetic and axiological components in the author’s concept of time, where eternal, irrevocable spiritual laws of existence operate.