''Vladimir Nabokov's Comic Quest for Reality' - Nottingham eTheses
''Vladimir Nabokov's Comic Quest for Reality' - Nottingham eTheses ''Vladimir Nabokov's Comic Quest for Reality' - Nottingham eTheses
- 94 - adding to its reality, it also detracts from it, for it can be suspected of having been invented. The intricacies are so tight as hardly to allow of a solution. One answer to the riddle might be that Pnin, in a rather round-about fashion, is relating the story of his own life, exposing and correcting the faulty images that exist of him in the minds: of others . One can also approximate to a conclusion if one remembers and accepts Nabokov's direct and indirect statements about art and reality. The narrator is an artist, like other Nabokov characters: Luzhin, Shade and Kinbote, Sebastian Knight and Mr. R., and like Nabokov-himself. Therefore, when writing Pnin's bi- ography, he does not write a. straightforward _factual account of Pnin's life but shapes his work artistically. Kinbote speaks for all of Nabokov's artists when he says that "'reality' is neither the subject nor the object of true art. "42 This certainly does not mean that art has nothing at all to do with factual reality; what it means is that art does not aim at describing and reproducing factual reality slavishly, and to this the narrator of Pnin subscribes. Apart from his rather obvious departures from reality, he betrays what liberty he feels he can take with it by his somewhat less obvious unconcern with real dates: even though the 15th February 1955 was,. a Tuesday (187,188) the 15th February 1953 was not, although the author insists in a rather round about fashion that it was (67,75). Instead, then, of taking down facts and instead of
95 - being accurate in every point, the narrator shapes reality, following artistic considerations. And doing so, he does something that Nabokov does in Glory, Luzhin in The Defence, Shade in Pale Fire and R. in Transparent Things. With different effects on their minds, both Luzhin and Shade find out and understand the pattern of their lives through their respective art forms, and Nabokov in Glory and R. in Transparent Things make the lives of their heroes "transparent". The narrator in Pnin may invent things; the incident in the park, for example, may not be wholly based on fact. It certainly has nothing to do with "average 'reality' perceived by the communal eye. " 43 The "average 'reality"" of Pnin's life perceived by the Waindell population, is a never-ending and chaotic sequence of comic incidents, which Jack Cockerell, with absurd and mindless repetition, relates again and again. The artistic insight reaches beyond that. It detects a meaningful design under the seemingly meaningless and chaotic surface and uncovers it, point- ing out curious repetitions in Pnin's life, or, to put it in terms of Speak, Memory, uncovering its "thematic design". 44 Doing this, it provides the key to its pattern, which the common beholder does not see and of which Pnin himself is only vaguely aware and which he cannot grasp and hold. The "average 'reality'', of Pnin's own person, that is, Pnin as seen by people at Waindell, is the freak and comic eccentric. Again the artist, gifted with more imagination and insight, penetrates the outward appear-
- Page 49 and 50: - 44 - Martin's mother of her son's
- Page 51 and 52: - 46 - is blind where his wife and
- Page 53 and 54: - 48 - serious and profound experie
- Page 55 and 56: I. The Eye Pnin Lolita; Laughter*in
- Page 57 and 58: - 51 - novel. They illustrate how p
- Page 59 and 60: - 53 - tearing the banknote into li
- Page 61 and 62: - 55 - have before: after the suici
- Page 63 and 64: - 57 - imagination of Gretchen best
- Page 65 and 66: - 59 - deed been through an experie
- Page 67 and 68: - 61 - there must be some "model" a
- Page 69 and 70: - 63 - P NI N In their appreciation
- Page 71 and 72: - 65 - For the sake of convenience
- Page 73 and 74: - 67 - Pnin's appearance is comic,
- Page 75 and 76: - 69 - all-the time. He suffers an
- Page 77 and 78: - 71 - existence" (13). In his pres
- Page 79 and 80: - 73 - is going to give, on his per
- Page 81 and 82: - 75 - exist in such big sea" (60).
- Page 83 and 84: - 77 - directly from Pnin's peculia
- Page 85 and 86: - 79 - them at least 10ok like his
- Page 87 and 88: - 81 - indeed only the very thinnes
- Page 89 and 90: - 83 - but the group of academics w
- Page 91 and 92: - 85 - "schools and trends", and is
- Page 93 and 94: - 87 - which induces the reader to
- Page 95 and 96: - 89 - and-smiles at, there emerges
- Page 97 and 98: - 91 - More depth and reality are a
- Page 99: - 93 - cp. 180). The narrator also
- Page 103 and 104: - 97 - standing of a "truly human b
- Page 105 and 106: - 99 - eternal beauty, and his conv
- Page 107 and 108: - 101 - One luckless early critic w
- Page 109 and 110: - 103 - says "well-read" Humbert Hu
- Page 111 and 112: - 105 - surface, into the initial m
- Page 113 and 114: - 107 - age. She was the "initial g
- Page 115 and 116: - 109 - and implies in the parody t
- Page 117 and 118: - 111 - He is equally inaccurate in
- Page 119 and 120: - 113 - with Quilty; and, of course
- Page 121 and 122: - 115 - or to hold her on his knee
- Page 123 and 124: - 117 - ations ) (98). And he descr
- Page 125 and 126: - 119 - a strident, harsh high voic
- Page 127 and 128: - 121 - When Humbert talks of his d
- Page 129 and 130: - 123 -- could victimize her poor d
- Page 131 and 132: - 125 - this twelve-year-old girl s
- Page 133 and 134: - 127 - done her morning duty" (161
- Page 135 and 136: - 129 - experience, up to a certain
- Page 137 and 138: - 131 - her: "... -a life full of t
- Page 139 and 140: - 133 - Looking at it for a moment
- Page 141 and 142: - 135 - and Axel Rex delightful. Bu
- Page 143 and 144: - 137 - critics have made her, and
- Page 145 and 146: - 139 - not record images of the sy
- Page 147 and 148: - 141 - ous hallucination" (287). 6
- Page 149 and 150: - 143 - No hereafter is acceptable
95 -<br />
being accurate in every point, the narrator shapes<br />
reality, following artistic considerations. And doing<br />
so, he does something that Nabokov does in Glory,<br />
Luzhin in The Defence, Shade in Pale Fire and R. in<br />
Transparent Things. With different effects on their<br />
minds, both Luzhin and Shade find out and understand<br />
the pattern of their lives through their respective<br />
art <strong>for</strong>ms, and Nabokov in Glory and R. in Transparent<br />
Things make the lives of their heroes "transparent".<br />
The narrator in Pnin may invent things; the incident<br />
in the park, <strong>for</strong> example, may not be wholly based on<br />
fact. It certainly has nothing to do with "average<br />
'reality' perceived by the communal eye. " 43 The<br />
"average 'reality"" of Pnin's life perceived by the<br />
Waindell population, is a never-ending and chaotic<br />
sequence of comic incidents, which Jack Cockerell,<br />
with absurd and mindless repetition, relates again<br />
and again. The artistic insight reaches beyond that.<br />
It detects a meaningful design under the seemingly<br />
meaningless and chaotic surface and uncovers it, point-<br />
ing out curious repetitions in Pnin's life, or, to<br />
put it in terms of Speak, Memory, uncovering its<br />
"thematic<br />
design".<br />
44 Doing this, it provides the key<br />
to its pattern, which the common beholder does not see<br />
and of which Pnin himself is only vaguely aware<br />
and which he cannot grasp and hold.<br />
The "average 'reality'', of Pnin's own person, that<br />
is, Pnin as seen by people at Waindell, is the freak<br />
and comic eccentric. Again the artist, gifted with more<br />
imagination and insight, penetrates the outward appear-
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