Nabokov's "Pale Fire" fractures the traditional doppelganger story (as do other novels of his, such as "Despair," "The Real Life of Sebastian Knight," and "Lolita"), which often relies on clear black-and-white doubles (Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyl and...

At a first glance, on a surface-level, one may be inclined to believe that the literary criticism executed by Charles Kinbote in Pale Fire is simply critical in form, but upon further inspection, it is made clear that Kinbote has incessantly...

Vladimir Nabokov manipulates language's ambiguous properties in Despair and The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. By toying with words' sounds and meanings he creates an atmosphere of duplicitous layers that resonates with the novel's thematic...

An autobiography in its entirety constitutes the full cry of an earthly individual, within an intrinsically unified species, beneath the invincibles of the universe. Gusdorf's "Conditions and Limits of Autobiography" grant this art form its place...

In Vladimir Nabokov’s Speak, Memory, Nabokov takes on a highly aesthetic approach documenting his past to bring faded memories back to life. Although memory is seemingly regarded as an involuntary recollection of history, Nabokov challenges this...

Humbert Humbert (HH) and Timofey Pnin are complete opposites. HH is assertive and is ready to do everything to reach the goals he sets himself, may it be to master a foreign language or to use his abilities as a manipulator to trick the reader...

Recounting the tale of the beloved poet Konstantin Perov, Nabokov cultivates a compelling short story seemingly isolated from a political or social motive; however, in the concluding paragraph, the reader’s expectations swivel upon Nabokov’s...

Vladimir Nabokov’s “Spring in Fialta” explores the protagonist's, Victor's, forbidden and impossible love affair with a carefree woman, Nina. Throughout the text, Victor’s narrative flashes to different, unchronological points in the past and the...

Vladimir Nabokov’s “Signs and Symbols” follows an elderly Jewish couple on the day of their institutionalized son’s birthday. In three parts, Nabokov describes their wasted journey sanatorium, where they could neither see their son nor deliver his...

Vladimir Nabokov’s “Spring in Fialta” and Anton Chekhov’s “The Darling” both explore relationships focusing on the point of view of only one, Victor and Olenka respectively, in the relationship(s). The relationships in both stories end in the...