Magical Realism in the Works of Vladimir Nabokov: Competing Realities in Pale Fire and Ada
Open Access
Author:
Lombardo, Anna Lauren
Area of Honors:
English
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Robert Lawrence Caserio Jr., Thesis Supervisor Dr. Xiaoye You, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
magical realism Nabokov fantastic literature Quayson realism
Abstract:
Vladimir Nabokov incorporates into many of his fictional English-language works elements of magic or fantasy, though many of these works also possess characteristics of realism. This paradox—the contradiction between the qualities of the fantastic and of the real—can cause readers trouble, and critics have attempted to address these problems. However, very little has been said regarding the status of Nabokov’s works in relation to the genre of magical realism, a framework that could eliminate or at least alleviate the difficulty readers experience when they encounter such issues. Ato Quayson’s definition of magical realism serves this analysis of two of Nabokov’s fictional English language works, Pale Fire and Ada. Quayson claims that the central characteristic of magical realism is the “scrupulous equivalence” of the fantastic and of the real and describes four characteristics that signal the presence of this equivalence. He notes that these four qualities—boundary blurring, the intentional manipulation of language, the altered presentation of space and time, and the act of subverting the historical—all function as modes by which the fantastic and the realistic are granted equal legitimacy. Using a magical realist framework helps to illuminate the enigmatic aspects of Nabokov’s works, and additionally offers suggestions for ways to clarify definitions of magical realism.
