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DR. GRISELDA ABAZAJ (DANGLLI)
NABOKOV'S INSPIRATION FROM EUROPEAN LITERATURE
ВЛИЯНИЕ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ НА ТВОРЧЕСТВО В. НАБОКОВА
В статье рассматриваются величайшие литературные труды европейской литературы, вдохновлявшие Владимира Набокова в его творчестве. Хотя В. Набоков никогда не признавал тот факт, что его любимые писатели, их книги и персонажи отражены в его произведениях, проявление и появление литературных мотивов этих писателей в книгах В. Набокова - бесспорный факт, который показывает, насколько сильно он ими восхищался. Известные писатели разных периодов и разных стан Европы (Шекспир, Флобер, Пруст, Кафка и др.) вдохновляли В. Набокова и «сопровождали» его в течение всей его жизни. Д. Джойс был в десятке самых любимых и повлиял на творческий стиль В. Набокова, который высоко ценил «Улисса», но критиковал другие работы Д. Джойса. Точно так же он анализировал произведения и других своих любимых авторов. Было очень смело со стороны Набокова критиковать корифеев европейской литературы и их произведения. Однако несмотря на критику, аллюзии на эти известные произведения европейской культуры и на их персонажей можно найти во многих книгах В. Набокова в течение всей его литературной карьеры.
Nabokov, European literature, influence, literature.
Nabokov's familiarity with the literature beyond the boundaries of Russia did not happen after the escape of the writer following the fall of the Russian Empire, but this familiarity and admiration was also a result of the writer's upbringing in an aristocratic Russian family, with his father's library luring the young writer. Nevertheless, as soon as the writer was consolidated as a genuine writer in Europe and later in America, he rejected any influence by other famous writers.
Nabokov did not want to be compared with other writers, Conrad and Kafka in particular, and he did not accept the concept of influence. Although he had a great admiration of Joyce, Nabokov once told an interviewer that he had not learned anything from him1. He did not say the same thing about Flauber, for whom he stated in his lectures that «without Flaubert, there would have been no Marcel proust in France, or James Joyce in Ireland. Chekhov in Russia would not have been the Chekhov we know»2.
There is a common belief that Flaubert had a significant influence on Nabokov. In «Speak, Memory!» he mentions that one day, his widowed mother, took from her husband's library the novel «Madame Bovary»,
1 Vladimir Nabokov. Strong Opinions. New York: Vintage International, 1973. P. 71.
2 Vladimir Nabokov. Lectures on Literature. Ed. Fredson
Bowers. New York: 1983. P. 412.
This paper elaborates on the influence that some of the greatest writers of European Literature had on Vladimir Nabokov's works. Although Nabokov found it hard to accept the fact that he was influenced by his favorite writers, the manifestation of these writers in his literary works is a clear declaration of admiration for them. Well-known writers of different periods of time in Europe such as Shakespeare, Flaubert, Proust, Kafka, etc. inspired Nabokov and «followed» him during his literary career. Joyce was part of Nabokov's top writers and he affected Nabokov's style of writing, but Nabokov praised «Ulysses» high and criticized some other works of him, as he did with his other favorite writers. However, for some of these writers Nabokov was selective regarding their literary works. He was brave enough to criticize even the most well-known literary works and not take every literary work written by a famous writer for granted. Allusions from these writers can be traced throughout Nabokov's literary corpus.
with the following note on the first page: «The Incomparable pearl of french literature». This made Nabokov write the following comment «...a judgment that is still true»3. Nabokov's lectures on «Madame Bovary» are a homage to Flauber as an extraordinary master of the word. A great number of allusions and references of this work and Flauber are found in «Lolita» such as the direct allusion for the death of Emma. However, it is the ambiguity of Lolita, as both erotically tempting and deeply vulgar, which constitutes the major link between the two novels. Although Flaubert considered Emma pervert, he still loved her. Nabokov loved Lolita too.
Descibed by Nabokov as «the greatest artist of his time», Fransua Rene de Shatobriand, a source of numerous allusions and influential in Nabokov's works, is the interlocutor of an intertextual dialogue in «Ada or Ardor: a Family Chronicle».
Nabokov and Shakespeare did not just share the same date of birth, 23 April. Parallels stretch beyond the constant respect of the critics and the popular admiration for their works. Nabokov thought that the poetic construction of Shakespeare's text is the greatest the world has ever known and in an interview of 1967 with Alfred Appel, he declared that «Pushkin's blood flows
3 Vladimir Nabokov. Speak. Memory: An Autobiography Revised. New York: Putnam, 1966. P. 174.
inevitably through the veins of modern Russian literature, just like Shakespeare's blood in English literature». Nabokov has entailed Shakespeare in «Bend sinister», with the seventh chapter constructed on various parodies of «Hamlet». The question «Who is he?»- who is the real author of Shakespeare's works?- is also a central theme in «Bend sinister», that is to say, the search for the creator. What this novel shows is the fact that the creator is always superior in consciousness towards its creations and inferior in consciousness towards its creator. While philosophical viewpoints regarding authorship are presented as Krug's or the narrator's opinions, the real conversation between Krug and Ember refers to the monologue of Hamlet. The famous phrase «To be or not to be» is given in «Bend sinister» as «L'egorgerai- je ou non?».
In both words we see the clash between the individual consciousness and an uncontrollable and hostile world. Just like Hamlet's fate, who finds himself in a situation where «something is rotten in the state of Denmark»1 , so is Krug's situation, who subdues to devilish games and the cruel force of the new rulers. Consciousness in Hamlet's and Krug's world, just like in our world, is connected with a body, and as a consequence it is not free. Hamlet first encounters the death of his father and the death of Ophelia later. Krug first encounters the death of his wife and the murder of his son later. In both cases, it is the tragedy of consciousness which the more stays in its circle, the greater danger is there for the body it is connected with, and the more sensitive it is to what happens in the physical universe, the more open it is to pain and anger2. There is no escape for this situation unless there is a radical cut of the connection between insanity and death.
The title of the novel «Pale fire» immediately reminds of the connection of this title with Shakespeare. References to Shakespeare and his works are found throughout the introduction provided by the pub lisher Kinbote. Herbert Grabes points out that «Pale fire « of Nabokov derives from Hamlet3 . In this book, Shade takes revenge for the murder of his father by verbally attacking the mentality of gangster politicians and eternalizes his love for his father in a number of reflections of the royal family.
At a young age, Nabokov had the same enthusiasm for English literature as his father. He admired a number of writers of early 20th century, particularly Doyle, Brooke, and Wells. Sisson4 underlines that a lot can be found about Nabokov's aesthetics by studying these writers thoroughly. Brooke's theme of passing to another world is essential in all of Shakespeare's works. Just like De la Mare, he likes alliteration; As U.H. Auden writes
1 William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Arden Edition. London: Methuen, 1982. P. I.iv.90.
2 Herbert Gabes. «Nabokov and Shakespeare: The English Works» in Vladimir E Alexandrov. The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov. Garland Publishing. INC. New York & London, 1995. P. 505.
3 Ibid. P. 510.
4 J. B.Sisson. «Nabokov and English Writers» in Alexandrov.
Vladimir E. The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov.
Garland Publishing. INC. New York & London, 1995. P. 536.
in the essay on De la Mare, «what our senses perceive about the world around us is not all we want to know»5.
The detective prose is part of numerous plots and characters of Nabokov. The short stories of Sherlock Holmes written by Doyle were liked by Nabokov a lot in his childhood. This is especially evident in one of his works, «Pnin». Although completely aware of the limitations of detective stories, Nabokov, in all of his works, is based on the elements of Holmes's personality: a powerful, independent, self-constrained, lively, accurate, intelligent, creative and physically fit. Above all, Nabokov's works show the sharp observation of phenomena and the discovery of hidden patterns, a patient collection of data leading to the immediate understanding of the situation.
Just like in adventure stories, Nabokov includes elements of the genre of the detective story in a bigger structure, which is the evaluation of imagination. This is observed in «The Eye». In «Lolita» Nabokov calls the director of the girls camp Shirley Holmes, thus showing us that the weaving of the novels imitates the structure of detective prose. The narrator of «The Real Life of Sebastian Knight» uses a strategy of Sherlock Holmes. In «Pale Fire», in order to imply the possibility of a great discovery through an imaginary change in perspective, Shade writes in his first song: «Was he in Sherlock Holmes, the fellow whose tracks pointed back when he reversed his shoes?»6
Throughout his life, Nabokov always appreciated H.G. Wells (1866-1946) more than any other writer of the early 20th century. Wells is observed in «Look at the harlequins!», «The Real Life of Sebastian Knight» and in «Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle». Many of the themes of Wells appear in Nabokov's works. For example, the aesthetic search of Nabokov for non-divine structures, expressed in ordinary detail, shows the mystical sensitivity of George Ponderevo of Wells.
«Invitation to a Beheading», is a long elaboration of the themes of Wells's story «The Country of the Blind». Both protagonists, Nunes of Wells and Cincinnatus of Nabokov, are subject to very high pressure to be in line with the situation and behavior of the mob. In the end each protagonist escapes: Nunes leaves the valley and return to the society he was born in; Cincinnatus destroys the fragile world the same way you can destroy a theatre stage.
Wells wrote many stories which dealt with hallucination and unusual perception, as observed in some of his titles: «The Door in the Wall», «The Temptation of Harringay», «The Moth», «The Plattner Story», «The Crystal Egg», «The man Who Could Work Miracles», «Mr. Skelmersdale in Fairyland», «The Stolen Body». Reflections of the theme of unusual perception, be it real or not, are noticed in Nabokov's works, including his short stories in «Ultima Thule» and «Signs and Symbols», and his poems.
When a journalist asked Nabokov about his favourite writers, he mentioned, among others, Proust. Proust
5 W.H Auden. Forewords and Afterwords. New York: Vintage, 1974. P. 391.
6 Vladimir Nabokov. Pale Fire. New York: Vintage International, 1962. P. 34.
really admired Proust and he frequently cited or palyed with his name. The presence of Proust in Nabokov's novels is various, including simple allusions, accurate citations, references to define characters, parodies, such as the purple part of Segelkranz in «Laughter in the dark», or playing with time in «Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle». The latter is probably the work most influenced by Proust, with complicated Proustian metaphors being present.
Nabokov was attracted by the Proustian synthesis and individualism. The story «Spring in Fialta» shows a great influence by Proust. As far as style is concerned, «Speak, Memory!» relies on long sentences, complex parallelisms and bracketed phrases, which are at least partially Proustian. In many of his works, Nabokov prefers to pay attention to a self-created and individual human life, and to a highly artistic approach to memory, both being part of the Proustian aesthetic spirit.
Kafka's «Metamorphosis», as a modern masterpiece, was ranked second by Nabokov, immediately after «Ulysses». The reason he preferred this masterpiece of Kafka is because it relies on extreme fantasy and imagination, both being the basics of Nabokov's works. Above all, he highly appreciated the accurate artistic style of Kafka. Thus, Kafka joins the tradition of Joyce and Proust to form a group of international and independent writers who were masters of style.
When Nabokov describes his first poetry in «Speak, memory!» he thinks that the creating activity involves a reorganization of the author's literary contexts. This is also true for Kafka. The most important fact is not whether he is similar to Kafka or not, but that he «surpasses him»1. Nevertheless, Kafka left his traces in «The Eye», «Invitation to a Beheading», «Bend sinister», «Pale fire», «Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle» and «Transparent things».
To Nabokov, Joyce's «Ulysses» was one of the masterpieces of world literature. This was the only work by Joyce which he admired and he thought it would continue to exist despite the fact that some academics transform it into a collection of Greek symbols or myths. Despite his declaration about the admiration of this book, Nabokov underlined that he had not learnt anything from the Irish writer because only in Cornell, years after the writing of some of his best works, did he pay attention to the detailed analysis of this book. Nabokov, despite his highly praised linguistic skills, believed that the language he used in his literary works could not be compared with that of James Joyce.
According to Nabokov, «Ulysses» stands at a higher level than the other works of Joyce, and compared with its great originality and clarity of thought and style, «Finnegans Wake»was not to be considered. Many critics and careful readers have found similarities between the two writers The connection is about the similar satisfaction that both writers get during the deliberate manipulation of the general features and conventions of prose, as if they were simply masterly planned moves of chess pieces. «Lolita» is undoubtedly
'John Burt Foster, Jr. «Nabokov and Kafka», in Alexandrov. Vladimir E. The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov. Garland Publishing. INC. New York & London, 1995. P. 448.
the most allusive novel and which plays with English after the writing of «Ulysses». Although Nabokov opposed the opinion of this critic at a meeting of Cornell University, we think that shining traces of Joyce can be noticed after numerous readings of the above-mentioned works.
Both Nabokov and Joyce wrote about emigration. It is widely known that Joyce referes to himself as an refugee in his literary works. On the other hand, in Vladimir Nabokov's writings we always find characters who are immigrants. Anyway, the theme of migration is bolder in Joyce. Nabokov just like Joyce used epiphany in his literary works. This can be mostly seen in «Speak, Memory!»
Nabokov did not like the way critics had understood the stream of consciousness technique. He stressed that it should be seen only by an aesthetic point of view and as a travel in imagination and not as a manifestation of unconsciousness. Of course, this opinion can be linked with the hostility Nabokov had towards Freud's opinions.
Nabokov's belief that a great book is an entire world and that a good novelist, or any kind of good artist, is one of its kind - was a belief he never gave up. Other English writers of the early 20th century for whom Nabokov expressed his admiration, at least for a certain time, are: Oscar Wilde, A.E. Housman, Rudyard Kipling, Norman Douglas, and G.K. Chesterton.
REFERENCES
1. Nabokov Vladimir. Strong Opinions. New York: Vintage International, 1973 P. 71.
2. Nabokov Vladimir. Lectures on Literature. Ed. Fredson Bowers. New York: 1983. P. 412.
3. Nabokov Vladimir. Speak. Memory: An Autobiography Revised. New York: Putnam, 1966. P. 174.
4. Shakespeare William. Hamlet. Arden Edition. London: Methuen, 1982. P. I.iv.90.
5. Grabes Herbert. «Nabokov and Shakespeare: The English Works» in Vladimir E Alexandrov. The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov. Garland Publishing. INC. New York & London, 1995.
6. Auden W.H. Forewords and Afterwords. New York: Vintage. 1974. P. 391.
7. Nabokov Vladimir. Pale Fire. New York: Vintage International, 1962. P. 34.
8. Foster John Burt. «Nabokov and Kafka». in Alexandrov. Vladimir E. The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov. Garland Publishing. INC. New York & London, 1995. P. 448.
