THE FUNCTIONING OF THE TOPOSES OF THE ROAD, FOREST, RIVER, AND MOUNTAIN IN MYROSLAV DOCHYNETS’ NOVELISTIC PROSE

Abstract

The article presents a systemic analysis of the features of modeling artistic space in the novelistic prose of the contemporary Ukrainian writer Myroslav Dochynets (based on the novels «Vichnyk. Spovid na perevali dukhu» («The Eternal. Confession at the Pass of the Spirit»), «Krynychar. Diiariush naibahatshoho cholovika Mukachivskoi dominii» («Krynychar. Diary of the Richest Man in the Mukachevo Dominion»), «Horianyn. Vody Hospodnikh rusel» («The Highlander. Waters of the Lord’s Riverbeds», and others). The relevance of the research is determined by the growing interest of literary studies in the problems of ecocriticism, as well as the need to comprehend the phenomenon of the popularity of the author’s philosophical and psychological prose. The study aims to clarify the specifics of the functioning and semantic content of the cross-cutting topos of the road, forest, river, and mountain, which, in M. Dochynets’s works, act as key elements of the author’s cosmogony and the spiritual evolution of the characters. The article analyzes the topos of the road as a universal metaphor for the life path and the dynamic process of self-knowledge. It is shown that movement within the work’s space is a form of spiritual initiation, in which each step brings the character closer to discovering their own essence. The role of the topos of the mountain is defined as a sacred vertical that structures the artistic world according to the principle of hierarchy. The mountain is interpreted as a space of asceticism, silence, and absolute freedom, where the dialogue between the human and the Creator takes place and the internal state is harmonized. The symbolic load of the topos of the river is clarified as a carrier of ancestral memory and a tool for cleansing the conscience. Using the image of the «Krynychar» as an example, the philosophy of service and the ethical dimension of interaction with the water element are revealed. The topos of the forest is examined as an ontological category and a therapeutic space that performs a protective function. The forest emerges as an alternative to the urban world, a place where the hero sheds social masks and returns to the primary sources of being. The conclusions state that the investigated toposes in Myroslav Dochynets’ prose go beyond landscape descriptions, transforming into deep philosophical and symbolic codes. They form a holistic, natural-philosophical concept rooted in Ukrainian mentality, in which harmony with nature is a condition for preserving national identity and achieving spiritual maturity.