| Vladimir Nabokov is a classical writer who had already established his literary status in the 20th century.Studies on his aesthetic idea,art forms,artistic techniques,ethical connotation,and secret metaphysical meanings have been fully developed,which constitute about ninety years of Nabokov criticism history.By reviewing the history of Nabokov’s researches,especially the achievements and trends of the new century,this dissertation argues that the new criticism trend of combining art and ethics is merely a simple superimposition or juxtaposition without revelation the complex relationship between them in Nabokov’s works,not to mention deep exploration of Nabokov’s art creation from this point of view.This dissertation believes that it is very important to understand Nabokov’s art development to certain the special relationship of them.In first level artistry and ethicality in Nabokov’s art pursue is conflicting,and the conflicts have significant impact on his writing development,but in the depth of Nabokov’s art,they have shown remarkable combination and connection substantially.Nabokov’s unique aesthetic idea and ethics view are foundations for later discussion.Nabokov once blamed acknowledged classics and theory openly and directly,and caused fireworks consequently,but this dissertation believes that these difference and opposition with strong personality traits are wonderful entrances to understand Nabokov’s aesthetic idea and ethics view.Through analyzing Nabokov’s "un-Russianness","strong opposition to Dostoevsky","the fierce resentment against Freud’s theory","the coexistence of praise and blame on Don Quixote"by the method of comparative study,we can generalize Nabokov’s contradictory attitude:on the one hand,he holds in esteem art for art’s sake,so that he can not tolerate indoctrination or moralization,but on the other hand,on a deeper level,ethical care and moral consciousness are things that he truly cares.Nabokov’s promoting art supremacy and opposing moral preaching have decisive impacts on his artistic development.Nabokov believes that moral preaching differs from ethical concerns,and the former in any form will distract and poison freedom of art which Nabokov praises highly.The strong will to pursue freedom of art urges Nabokov to surpass himself and literary tradition continuously,including getting rid of and surpassing "ego" in subjects consciously,constant innovation of artistic forms and techniques,suspension of the author’s standpoint on value judgment within text(including ethical and aesthetic value)and so forth.This trend of art development is clearly shown in his three early novels:Mary;King,QueeN,Knave;and The Defense.The Gift,the last and the most important Russian novel of Nabokov,marks a crucial transformation on the path of Nabokov’s artistic freedom.In his English period.Nabokov’s artistic thought was finally mature,and eventually formed a typical personal style,which can be clearly seen in Lolita,Pnin and Pale Fire from the aspects of "the controversial topic","going to irony",and "changing forms",and these three works also reveal that Nabokov’s pursuit of artistic freedom has no end.After ruling out the didactic meaning,art and ethics coordinate and are interlinked in Nabokov’s works in essence.In more specific terms,aiming to the ethical dimensions of art,Nabokov puts forward the original concept of "more artistry,more ethicality".Nabokov believes that true art naturally has ethical function and moral strength,but if the author has something else rather than art to go after,not only the ethical function but also the artistry itself will be lost.Therefore,creating real work of art should be the only goal that an excellent artist considers.Nabokov designedly creates a large number of secondary characters in his works,showing his extraordinary ethical concerns for ordinary and peripheral people.But he never did it by expressing his concern directly.Alternatively,he Is used to imitating those real situations in real life and often adopts the method of protagonists’ initial neglect and final discovery in his works to draw readers’ curiosity and attention.As an artist,Nabokov excoriates Common sense and poshlost of daily life,meanwhile he has drawn infinite wisdom and warmth from his family and marriage,which often renders him to rethink "daily life" itself and revere it.This finally helps his writing avoid the emptiness caused by pursuing artistry exclusively.Moreover,Nabokov’s works have a crucial "discovery" motif:he designs a large number of plots under the surface plot for curious readers to train their capability of discovery in real life and help them to find subtlety and beauty of the world and life.In conclusion,freedom of art and preach of moral seemingly cannot coexist in Nabokov’s works,but on a deeper level Nabokov endows artistic freedom with ethical dimension,just like one password carries two important information at the same time.In one word,it will be much easier to communicate with freedom of morality if art has more freedom. |
