A Study Of The Cultural Memory Of Nabokov’s Novels During The European Period

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov(1899.04.22-1977.07.02)was an outstanding representative of Russian diaspora literature and an internationally renowned literary figure who wrote across languages and cultures.During his stay in Europe,Nabokov wrote nine novels in Russian and published various translations,poems and plays.His creation did not follow the problem-oriented tradition of the Russian realist literary creation in the 19th century,which was rooted in society,but featured post-modern artistic creation,showing more avant-garde techniques and aesthetic sensitivity.This thesis examines nine of Nabokov’s novels written in Russian during his early exile in Europe,and explores the methods,modes and meanings of cultural memory writing in the author’s novels in their historical context.The thesis aims to explore the following questions:How does the writer present Russian cultural memory in his novels in the light of cultural memory theory and its interdisciplinary perspective?How does the writer construct a double cultural memory context in exile?How does the writer use memory as a means of constructing memory and the present,history and the future?How does he present identity in exile?On this basis,we use the writer’s approach to cultural memory expression as a mode of writing and extend it appropriately in relation to the theory itself,while pointing to a multidimensional perspective on the literary writing of cultural memory.Based on cultural memory and related theories,this thesis explores the issues of literary creative activity,dual cultural memory,time and mobile space,and identity in Nabokov’s writing through a textual analysis of the novel.The presentation techniques and multiple meanings of the phenomenon of cultural memory in the novel are interpreted from multiple perspectives.Nabokov’s cultural memory writing is a mode of "self-talk",expressing the writer’s "non-referential" social-critical attitude,and this thesis also explores Nabokov’s unique mode of cultural memory writing on the basis of cultural memory theory.The phenomenon of cultural memory is prominent in Nabokov’s fiction.In the theoretical foundation section,we describe cultural memory theory and provide an overview of Jan Assmann’s and Aleida Assmann’s cultural memory and the related interaction of memory,history and literature.The significance,purpose and methodology of this study are presented in relation to Western and Russian scholarship.Through a close reading and analysis of the novel’s text,we focus on the theory of cultural memory and discuss it in four dimensions.Firstly,we emphasize Nabokov’s indication of cultural memory in his macroscopic literary creation.The writer conveys the themes of the Realms of Memory and typical female images in his novels,and his "creation within creation" implies a social and historical critical attitude.Secondly,Nabokov’s novels present the memory and reconstruction of both Russian and European cultures in exile.The writer is adept at combining the trauma of exile with memory,focusing on Russian themes and emphasising the interaction between history and the present.Nabokov’s fictional narratives contain a great deal of double cultural memory in exile,and the writer reconstructs the past,the present and the future through the use of memory.Again,the author’s novels show the interaction of cultural memory with time and space in the European exile context.The symbols of cultural memory of life in exile are memory texts,but they are also a multidimensional and dynamic representation of cultural memory in time and space.Nabokov’s writing on future memory is both an expression of individual attitudes and a unique mode of writing on cultural memory.Finally,Nabokov’s writing on "childhood","growing up","vision" and "prison"all points to the contradictory self-identity in the trauma of exile.On the one hand,there are interactions and contradictions between the exile environment and individual memories;on the other hand,in the present and new context of exile,the exiles face the dilemma of individual freedom and selfhood.The contradiction between memory and the present,the interaction between the past and the future in Nabokov’s novels,all point to the creativity of memory.This is not only a multi-dimensional reconstruction of Russia in Nabokov’s writing,but also a new literary presentation of the paradigm of cultural memory theory.In his novels,Nabokov presents cultural memory in the perspective of literary writing,constructing memory and the present,history and reality,and expressing self-identity in multiple contexts.Nabokov is a recognized master of the art of fiction,and in his exile narrative he is adept at self-talk through a nested narrative that constantly takes the reader out of context and responds to its themes with plot.The writer deliberately denies and yet seeks a certainty for himself and his readers.He presents the contradictions between the "in and out" and "leaving or staying" of cultural memory in the narrative,which is itself a unique mode of writing about cultural memory.The "meaninglessness" and "prohibition" of Nabokov’s writing are his distinctive social-critical attitude.Moreover,by looking at the theory from the perspective of creation,Nabokov’s unique mode of presenting cultural memory can be extended to theory itself.The use of Nabokov’s unique "non-referential"cultural memory brings more room for imagination and interpretation to the novel.