Karetnyk, Bryan Serhij;
(2022)
Vladimir Nabokov and the Russian Emigration: Intellectual and Creative Responses to the Rise of Totalitarianism.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
Abstract
Ie writers and intellectuals of the first wave of Russian emigration were in a unique position to respond to the twentieth century’s emergence of totalitarianism. Having observed from afar their homeland transformed under the aegis of a totalitarian regime, they were also first-hand witnesses to its proliferation in other guises throughout Europe and beyond. Moreover, their often-precarious, liminal status as exiles not only made concerns regarding the spread of totalitarian ideologies an urgent issue with grave consequences, but also afforded them the unique ability to respond to the phenomenon intellectually and creatively as individuals on the margins of these totalitarian systems. Iis thesis examines how Vladimir Nabokov, as one of the foremost writers of the first wave of Russian emigration, responded intellectually and creatively to the rise of totalitarian ideologies, how his response compared with those of his peers in emigration, and assesses to what degree the interplay of responses shaped his aesthetic and ethical development as a writer. Combining nuanced critical readings of key literary and publicistic texts, autobiography and memoir, private correspondence and unpublished archival materials with elements of cultural history and intertextual analysis, this thesis provides new insights into Nabokov’s writing within a comparative context. Structured in two parts, the thesis first examines intellectual responses to the rise of totalitarianism, surveying the range of public and private reaction within the diaspora and assessing the variety of ways in which the cultural and creative life of the emigration engaged with the phenomenon. Ie second part explores Nabokov’s own creative response to totalitarianism, examining first orthodox elements of dictatorship, polity and ideology, before expanding outwards to consider abstract interpretations in aesthetic, ethical and other dimensions. Novel in its approach, this thesis offers not only a significant contribution to Nabokov studies, but also a reorientation of Nabokov and émigré scholarship more broadly.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Vladimir Nabokov and the Russian Emigration: Intellectual and Creative Responses to the Rise of Totalitarianism |
| Event: | UCL (University College London) |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > SSEES UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10142667 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
