Vladimir Nabokovs Eigenwelt

Although Vladimir Nabokov's attitude towards Germany fluctuated between cool detachment and fervent rejection, various "German tropes" can be observed in both the life and work of the outstanding Russian-American writer. And it's not just about several novels set in Berlin. In this volume, Andrey Kotin has set himself the goal of tracing the German references in the life and work of one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Aspects such as Berlin as the setting for Nabokov's Russian-language novels, (neo)romantic motifs in his prose and poetry, Hannah Arendt's philosophy of evil and a comprehensive comparative analysis of Nabokov's "Invitation to a Beheading" and Franz Kafka's "The Trial" come into focus. Although Vladimir Nabokov's attitude towards Germany alternated between cool distance and ardent disapproval, both in the life and work of the preeminent Russian-American writer various "German tropes" can be observed. This is not merely a matter of several novels which are set in Berlin. Equally interesting are Nabokov's views regarding the nature of evil and totalitarianism, confronted with the philosophy of Hannah Arendt. Another essential aspect concerns Romantic motifs in "The Defence" and "Lolita", here viewed under the auspices of specifically German Romanticism (Ludwig Tieck, Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, E.T.A. Hoffmann). A separate chapter has been dedicated to a comparative analysis of "Invitation to a Beheading" and Franz Kafka's "The Trial".