The role of water imagery in forming textual unity in I. A. Goncharov’s novels

The aim of the study is to identify the general principles of functioning and depiction of water images in I. A. Goncharov’s novels “An Ordinary Story”, “Oblomov” and “The Precipice” as a manifestation of one of the ways of forming textual unity. The scientific originality of the study lies in the holistic approach to the consideration of the images of water elements in the three novels as structural elements of the writer’s artistic world, demonstrating the commonality of the principles of their construction. The article presents a comprehensive analysis of water objects in each of the novels from the point of view of their role in the organization of artistic space, reflection of internal transformations of characters, revealing the features of the lifestyle of both individual characters and entire chronotopes. The study includes a sequential consideration of key water images (lake, marsh, river, waterfall) in comparison of their natural characteristics and metaphorical meanings acquired in the works. Special attention is paid to the general principles of belonging of water objects to certain artistic spaces in all the author’s novels, which indicates the formation of individual-authorial textual unity. The obtained results have shown that water objects are important structural elements of the chronotope of the trilogy, which are important components of the figurative system of the novels, reflect the philosophical concept of the works and the specificity of the author’s picture of the world.