The Eye (Russian: Соглядатай, Sogliadatai, literally 'voyeur' or 'peeper'), written in 1930, is Vladimir Nabokov's fourth novel. It was translated into English by the author's son Dmitri Nabokov in 1965.
At around 80 pages, The Eye is Nabokov's shortest novel. Nabokov himself referred to it as a 'little novel' and it is a work that sits somewhere around the boundary between extended short story and novella. It was produced during a hiatus in Nabokov's creation of short stories between 1927 and 1930 as a result of his growing success as a novelist.[2]
As in many of Nabokov's early works, the characters are largely Russian émigrés relocated to Europe, specifically Berlin. In this case, the novel is set in two houses where a young Russian tutor, Smurov, is renting room and board.
The action of the novel largely begins after the (perhaps fatal) suicide attempt of the protagonist. This occurs after he suffers a beating at the hands of a cuckolded husband (the protagonist has been having an affair with a woman called Matilda with whom he has also, apparently, been rather bored).[3] After his supposed death, and assuming everything in the world around him to be a manifestation of his 'leftover' imagination, his "eye" observes a group of Russian émigrés as he tries to ascertain their opinions of the character Smurov, around whom much uncertainty and suspicion exists.
Themesedit
The novel deals largely with indeterminate locus of identity and the social construction of identity in the reactions and opinions of others. Smurov exists as a fraud, nobleman, scoundrel, "sexual adventurer", thief, and spy in the eyes of the various characters. In some senses, Smurov is akin to the narrator of Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground. As the protagonist carefully collects these observations, he attempts to build a stable perspective on Smurov — whom we only belatedly discover is the narrator himself. The result is a meditation on the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity.
The work is the first one in Nabokov's oeuvre involving a first-person narrator and, specifically, one who imposes his fantasy world upon the real world. This was to be a structure that was developed further in later works such as Despair (1934), Pale Fire (1962) and his final novel, Look at the Harlequins! (1974). In a 1967 interview with Alfred Appel Jr, Nabokov retrospectively suggested that the work might have represented a turning-point in his career in this respect.[4]
Referencesedit
^"The Eye by Vladimir NABOKOV on Between the Covers".
^Johnson, D. Barton (Winter 1985). "The Books Reflected in Nabokov's Eye". The Slavic and East European Journal. 29 (4): 393–404. doi:10.2307/307461. JSTOR 307461.
^Johnson, D. Barton (1995). The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov edited by Vladimir E. Alexandrov. Routledge. p. 134. ISBN978-0-8153-0354-1. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
Further readingedit
Vernon, David (2022). Ada to Zembla: The Novels of Vladimir Nabokov. Edinburgh: Endellion Press. ISBN978-1739136109.
External linksedit
A brief bibliography and summary of The Eye at Zembla.
April 11, 2024
novel, russian, Соглядатай, sogliadatai, literally, voyeur, peeper, written, 1930, vladimir, nabokov, fourth, novel, translated, into, english, author, dmitri, nabokov, 1965, eyefirst, english, editionauthorvladimir, nabokovoriginal, titleСоглядатай, sogliadat. The Eye Russian Soglyadataj Sogliadatai literally voyeur or peeper written in 1930 is Vladimir Nabokov s fourth novel It was translated into English by the author s son Dmitri Nabokov in 1965 The EyeFirst English editionAuthorVladimir NabokovOriginal titleSoglyadataj Sogliadatai TranslatorDmitri NabokovLanguageRussianPublisherPhaedra 1 Publication date1930Published in English1965At around 80 pages The Eye is Nabokov s shortest novel Nabokov himself referred to it as a little novel and it is a work that sits somewhere around the boundary between extended short story and novella It was produced during a hiatus in Nabokov s creation of short stories between 1927 and 1930 as a result of his growing success as a novelist 2 As in many of Nabokov s early works the characters are largely Russian emigres relocated to Europe specifically Berlin In this case the novel is set in two houses where a young Russian tutor Smurov is renting room and board Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Themes 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksPlot summary editThe action of the novel largely begins after the perhaps fatal suicide attempt of the protagonist This occurs after he suffers a beating at the hands of a cuckolded husband the protagonist has been having an affair with a woman called Matilda with whom he has also apparently been rather bored 3 After his supposed death and assuming everything in the world around him to be a manifestation of his leftover imagination his eye observes a group of Russian emigres as he tries to ascertain their opinions of the character Smurov around whom much uncertainty and suspicion exists Themes editThe novel deals largely with indeterminate locus of identity and the social construction of identity in the reactions and opinions of others Smurov exists as a fraud nobleman scoundrel sexual adventurer thief and spy in the eyes of the various characters In some senses Smurov is akin to the narrator of Dostoevsky s Notes from Underground As the protagonist carefully collects these observations he attempts to build a stable perspective on Smurov whom we only belatedly discover is the narrator himself The result is a meditation on the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity The work is the first one in Nabokov s oeuvre involving a first person narrator and specifically one who imposes his fantasy world upon the real world This was to be a structure that was developed further in later works such as Despair 1934 Pale Fire 1962 and his final novel Look at the Harlequins 1974 In a 1967 interview with Alfred Appel Jr Nabokov retrospectively suggested that the work might have represented a turning point in his career in this respect 4 References edit The Eye by Vladimir NABOKOV on Between the Covers 16 The Eye Mantex Retrieved 20 June 2014 Johnson D Barton Winter 1985 The Books Reflected in Nabokov s Eye The Slavic and East European Journal 29 4 393 404 doi 10 2307 307461 JSTOR 307461 Johnson D Barton 1995 The Garland Companion to Vladimir Nabokov edited by Vladimir E Alexandrov Routledge p 134 ISBN 978 0 8153 0354 1 Retrieved 20 June 2014 Further reading editVernon David 2022 Ada to Zembla The Novels of Vladimir Nabokov Edinburgh Endellion Press ISBN 978 1739136109 External links editA brief bibliography and summary of The Eye at Zembla Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Eye novel amp oldid 1173724134, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
