The Chant Of Melancholy

Vladimir Nabokov is one of the most prominent American writers of the twentiethcentury. Throughout his life, he published altogether seventeen novels in Russian and inEnglish. Nabokov’s novels cover a wide spectrum of themes. As an exilic writer, he wasfond of writing about the lives of exiles of various kinds. This thesis examines the theme ofexile as it is presented in Nabokov’s three novels published in different periods of hiswriting career, namely, Mary (1926), Lolita (1955), and Pnin (1957). It is contended thatall these novels and perhaps many others in Nabokov’s general oeuvre present themelancholy experience of life in exile.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One gives a brief introduction toNabokov’s life and literary career, followed by a literature review of the Nabokov criticismwe have so far had, some theorists’ perspectives on exile and the purpose of this thesis.Chapter Two takes a detailed look at Nabokov’s first novel Mary and analyzes twocharacters in it—Ganin and Podtyagin to illustrate how exile led to paralysis in differentforms. Chapter Three offers a reading of the central character in Lolita—Humbert，andpoints out how the attempt on his part to recreate a new world was defeated in the finalanalysis. Chapter Four discusses the central character Pnin in Pnin and points out howdifficult it was for him to adjust and settle in his adopted country. The last chapter is theconclusion, in which I contend that the theme of exile is a major subject in many ofNabokov’s novels and the way Nabokov treated this theme reflects his own experiencesand reflections on them as an exilic intellectual. What the above three novels convey areNabokov’s feelings of the melancholy inflicted on him by his involuntary exile.