The Canon of the Gothic Novel: Traditions and Reinterpretation in Mervyn Peake's Trilogy "Gormenghast"

The subject of the study is the transformation of the Gothic canon in Mervyn Peake's trilogy "Gormenghast." Key Gothic topoi (the castle, the motif of enclosure, the figure of the villain, the image of the victim) are analyzed, along with their reinterpretation in the context of modernist poetics and their connection to the author's biographical experience (in particular, his experiences during World War II). Special attention is given to the spatial organization of the text, the system of characters, and the philosophical and psychological depth of the work. The research investigates how the traditional Gothic castle transforms into a metaphor for a stagnant, ritualized world, and how the characters become symbols of existential conflict. The influence of surrealism and symbolism on Peake's stylistics is considered. The analysis demonstrates how the author, by combining grotesque and lyricism, creates a unique artistic world where the Gothic tradition acquires a new resonance, reflecting the crises of the 20th century and universal human experiences. The study relies on a comprehensive literary analysis: a comparative-historical method (comparing "Gormenghast" with classic Gothic novels by E. Radcliffe, H. Walpole, M. G. Lewis); a structural-semiotic approach (interpreting spatial images – the castle, forests, dungeons – as symbols and signs); a biographical method (considering the influence of Peake's personal experience, including his visit to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp). The novelty of the work lies in the systematic examination of "Gormenghast" as a neo-Gothic text, in which: Gothic elements (the castle, the sinister antagonist, the vulnerable heroine) acquire new philosophical and psychological meanings; the space of the castle transforms from a backdrop into an active participant in the action, becoming a metaphor for a decaying civilization and the internal disintegration of the individual; the image of the villain (Steerpike) retains characteristics of the classic Gothic antagonist but gains modern complexity through motivation and social dynamics; the motif of enclosure is revealed on three levels – physical (architecture), social (rituals), and psychological (isolation of characters); Gothic aesthetics of fear is reoriented from external horror to internal, psychological terror. The results of the study demonstrate that Peake's trilogy is not a mechanical reproduction of Gothic templates but a profound reinterpretation of the tradition. The author utilizes Gothic codes to discuss free will, identity, moral decay, and loneliness in a world devoid of stable meanings.