Multi-layered character structure in A. Salnikov’s novel “The Petrovs in and Around the Flu”

The aim of the research is to identify the specificity of the multi-layered character construction in A. Salnikov’s novel “The Petrovs in and Around the Flu” as a result of the interaction of everyday, narrative, psychological, and axiological-mythopoetic planes. The article analyzes the mechanisms of superimposing these planes, identifies the key means of their artistic organization – non-linear composition, “insertions” (memories, dreams, hallucinations), and shifts in focalization – which determine a special mode of perceiving what is depicted. Particular attention is paid to the role of liminal states of consciousness, through which the character’s perception becomes an element of the narrative structure, as well as to mythopoetic motifs and archetypal projections that create the effect of a “second reality” behind the facade of everyday life. The scientific novelty of the research lies in considering the multi-layered nature of the character as an integral system of interacting levels, which allows the hero’s image to be described as a dynamic model. As a result, it was established that the multi-layered structure of the image serves as a principle of the novel’s poetics, ensuring the text’s polysemy. It was revealed that compositional breaks and shifts in perspective translate what is depicted into a “multiple reality” mode. It was shown that the superimposition of different planes serves as a mechanism for character self-disclosure.