GENRE SPECIFICS OF THE PHILOLOGICAL NOVEL IN A. P. CHUDAKOV’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WORK "A GLOOM IS CASTING UPON THE ANCIENT STEPS"

Abstract

Abstract. The article is devoted to the theoretical comprehension of the philological novel as a synthetic genre formation in modern literature. Based on the analysis of leading researchers' works, the key features of this form are identified: literary centrism, interdiscursivity, metatextuality, and the special role of autobiographical writing. Particular attention is given to the figure of the philologist-protagonist, whose professional reflection serves as a structuring principle of the narrative. The analysis focuses on A. P. Chudakov’s novel "Lies the Gloom upon the Old Steps", which is examined as a representative model of the philological novel in its autobiographical variation.The authors demonstrate that in this work, personal memory and scholarly consciousness construct an idyllic chronotope and facilitate the demythologization of the past. In the context of genre mobility, the philological novel is presented as a space of intellectual interaction where the boundaries between art and science are blurred. The study emphasizes the need for further typologization of the genre in the conditions of its active hybridization.