“The Luzhin Defense” by V. Nabokov in the context of Bildungsroman traditions

Abstract

The aim of the study is to justify the concept of the world-modeling strategy of V. Nabokov as a novelist during the Berlin period of his creative development. The paper proceeds from the obvious fact that the Russian writer utilized narratives widely used in the preceding literary practice, which the author elaborates to create his world picture enriched with new content. The first two of his novels, “Mary” and “King, Queen, Knave”, are constructed this way: one can easily recognize plots based on the motifs of unrequited love and adultery. However, regarding the subsequent novel “The Luzhin Defense”, a similar connection with the preceding literary tradition is not established. The proposed concept of the genre identity of this novel, coupled with its narrative features, adds some clarifications to its understanding. The study is original in that it is the first to reveal the causal and semantic correlation of V. Nabokov’s third novel with the European Bildungsroman. The underlying world model proved historically exceptionally productive. It is this model that the first-wave Russian émigré writer builds on. The result of the study amounts to the identification of the principles of artistic world-modeling underlying the literary strategy of V. Nabokov as a novelist during the Berlin period of his creative evolution.