Textology as a search

Abstract

The article analyses the defining characteristics of a method in textology that is rooted in the idea of a search. The method is described in detail with the example of Aleksey Balakin’s study ‘Was Goncharov the author of Nimfodora Ivanovna?’ [‘Byl li Goncharov avtorom povesti Nimfodora Ivanovna?’]: we follow every step taken by the researcher in his quest for truth about the authorship. The article acknowledges the compelling arguments offered by Balakin to debunk the novella’s long-established but hasty and unfounded attribution to Goncharov and the researcher’s meticulous verification of the style and writing period of the anonymous author against the events in Goncharov’s life and literary career (as well as his known stylistic, ideological and artistic preferences). The article mentions that the search relies on the method of comparative-critical analysis. In addition, the study compares and contrasts the meanings of a search in history and textology. In support of such a comparison, the author refers to theses from Marc Bloch’s The Historian’s Craft.