The specificity of the way-road motif implementation in domestic urban fantasy

The article analyzes the implementation’s variations of the fairy-tale motif the way-road in modern domestic fantasy on the example of its urban variety, which is characterized by the obligatory presence of dual world principle (the world of reality coexists on an equal footing with the fantasy world) and the presence of a protagonist, who, like a romantic hero, feels tragic discord with the reality. It turns out that the path-road is closely connected with the folklore motif of magical escape: the hero sets off on a journey around the city, because he tries to escape from the fantastic creatures pursuing him, eager not only to deprive him of supernatural abilities, but also to kill him, however in the final, when the protagonist reaches the end point of his path, he defeats all antagonists. The author decides, that the path-road motif is equated to a quest and determines the entire plot of urban fantasy: the protagonist moves along a path limited by the boundaries of urban space, which becomes an initiation for him, allowing him to improve himself both ethically and in supernatural skills. It is established that urban fantasy can be partially attributed to a variety of adventure novel, but there is a fundamental difference between them: in an adventure novel, the focus is on the fact of the adventures themselves, their presence, while in urban fantasy, on the fact of the transformation experienced by the hero in the process of passing tests.