DOKTORI DISSZERTÁCIÓ VILÁGOK ÉS MÁSVILÁGOK VLADIMIR NABOKOV MŰVEIBEN SÁRDI RUDOLF 2013 Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar DOKTORI DISSZERTÁCIÓ SÁRDI RUDOLF VILÁGOK ÉS MÁSVILÁGOK VLADIMIR NABOKOV MŰVEIBEN WORLDS AND WORLDS APART IN VLADIMIR NABOKOV’S FICTION Az Irodalomtudományi Iskola vezetője: Dr. Kállay Géza DSc, egyetemi tanár A Modern Angol és Amerikai Irodalom Doktori Program vezetője: Dr. Péter Ágnes DSc, egyetemi tanár A bizottság elnöke: Dr. Hetényi Zsuzsa DSc, egyetemi tanár Hivatalosan felkért bírálók: Dr. Takács Ferenc PhD, egyetemi docens Dr. Pellérdi Márta PhD, egyetemi docens A bizottság további tagjai: Dr. Friedrich Judit CSc, egyetemi docens, a bizottság titkára Dr. Goldmann Márta PhD, főiskolai docens Dr. Kenyeres János CSc, egyetemi docens Dr. Gellért Marcell PhD, főiskolai docens Témavezető: Dr. Farkas Ákos PhD, habilitált főiskolai docens DOCTORAL DISSERTATION by Rudolf Sárdi Worlds and Worlds Apart in Vladimir Nabokov’s Fiction A doctoral dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Rudolf Sárdi in 2013 Fall Semester Supervised by Dr. Ákos Farkas, Associate Professor Department of English Studies School of English and American Studies Modern English and American Literature Doctoral Program Doctoral School of Literature Headed by Prof. Dr. Géza Kállay Faculty of Humanities Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, Hungary Certificate of Research I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Rudolf Sárdi Budapest, November 15, 2013 Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................. 9 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ 10 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 13 Setting the Scene ................................................................................................................. 13 Toward a Definition of the Otherworld .............................................................................. 26 Nabokov’s “Sudden Flash”: Some Words on “Cosmic Synchronization” ......................... 32 Time, Space, and Consciousness: an Overview of Nabokov’s “Spiral of Being” .............. 46 Separating Time and Space: Bergsonian Echoes ............................................................... 50 Loss and Displacement: the Self-Encoded Nabokov .......................................................... 55 Points of Intersection: Morality, Biography, and Metaphysics .......................................... 60 CHAPTER 1 ...................................................................................................................... 69 Nabokov’s Smaller Butterflies: Metaphysics and World-Fashioning in the Stories .......... 69 CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................................... 78 THE CHORDS OF FATE IN THE “THE RETURN OF CHORB” .................................. 78 Glimpses of Chorb in Nabokov’s Early Prose .................................................................... 78 Narrative Closure: Transcending Boundaries ..................................................................... 81 Dark and Light Tonalities in Chorb’s Story ........................................................................ 86 Exploring the Orpheus Motif: the Story of a Quest ............................................................ 89 Chorb and the Kellers: the Question of Poshlost’ Revisited ............................................... 97 CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................................... 102 EUROPEAN CEILINGS IN BADONIA: OTHER MODELS OF THE OTHERWORLDLY IN “TERRA INCOGNITA” ........................................................... 102 Levels of Perception .......................................................................................................... 103 The “Otherworld” as a Textual Zone ................................................................................ 106 “Terra Incognita” as Heterotopia ...................................................................................... 109 “Cosmic Synchronization” and Echoes of Invitation to a Beheading ............................... 116 CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................................... 121 SQUIRRELS, HEARTBEATS AND THE OTHERWORLDLY VARIATIONS OF PNIN ........................................................................................................................... 121 Pnin’s America: a Home for the Homeless ....................................................................... 124 Shadows and Hearts in Pnin ............................................................................................ 131 Gunshots, Squirrels and a Compassionate Eye ................................................................. 139 The Jewish Question in Pnin: an Overview ...................................................................... 150 CHAPTER 5 .................................................................................................................... 154 MOVING WITH THE HEADMAN’S SWINGING HIPS: THE “HERE” AND “THERE” OF VLADIMIR NABOKOV’S INVITATION TO A BEHEADING ............ 154 Morality and Nabokov’s Art of Politics in Invitation to a Beheading .............................. 157 Nabokov’s Radiant Points ................................................................................................ 163 Gogolesque Mediocrity and the Inaccessibility of the Otherworld................................... 172 Revisiting the Otherworld: Butterflies, Doubles and the Lost Paradise ........................... 176 CHAPTER 6 .................................................................................................................... 184 “HORRIBLE HYBRIDIZATION” IN LOLITA: SYNTHESIZING WORLDS AND WORLDS APART ................................................. 184 CHAPTER 6 .................................................................................................................... 184 MORALITY, PHILO-SEMITISM, AND THE “OTHERWORLD” IN VLADIMIR NABOKOV’S LIFE AND ART ................................................................. 206 Impulses and Biographical Circumstances ....................................................................... 206 The Otherworld and the Wandering Jew .......................................................................... 213 EPILOGUE: CONGEALING FRAGMENTS ............................................................. 222 WORKS CITED ............................................................................................................... 234 ABBREVIATIONS Citations of Nabokov’s writings are abbreviated in this dissertation as follows: Ada Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle AL The Annotated Lolita BS Bend Sinister Des Despair Gift The Gift IB Invitation to a Beheading LATH Look at the Harlequins! LL Lectures on Literature LRL Lectures on Russian Literature Mary Mary NWL The Nabokov-Wilson Letters PF Pale Fire Pnin Pnin PP Poems and Problems RLSK The Real Life of Sebastian Knight SM Speak, Memory SO Strong Opinions Stories The Short Stories of Vladimir Nabokov Citations of Brian Boyd’s two-volume work on Nabokov are abbreviated as follows: AY Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years RY Vladimir Nabokov: The Russian Years The bibliographical details of the works listed above can be found in the “Works Cited” section of this dissertation. 9 Acknowledgements While completing a doctoral dissertation calls for untiring perseverance and the necessary passion for the subject-matter, it is a far cry from being the sole product of its author. It is for this reason that I should like to express my sincerest gratitude to the people who have helped me, supported me, and most importantly, encouraged me throughout a project, the completion of which was hindered by unforeseen circumstances at several junctures over the years. I owe a great debt of gratitude to Dr. Ákos Farkas, my indefatigable supervisor, who not only shared the best of his wisdom with me during long conversations, but also kept the fire burning with his undiminished enthusiasm and his anticipation of every upcoming chapter for inspection and then detailed discussion. His efforts in improving every bit of this dissertation have been not only herculean, but also beyond the call of duty. I gratefully acknowledge his endorsement of the project right from the onset and also his willingness to offer his guidance and critical comments, beginning with initial contacts in the early stages of conceptual inception. Others who pointed me in the right direction were former professors and fellow-students in the doctoral program, all of whom gave me very useful feedback on certain chapters of the manuscript and helped me with their critical comments in eliminating my remaining mistakes despite the veritably subjective nature of our discipline. I am especially thankful to Professor Zsuzsa Hetényi