The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Naming in Vladimir Nabokov's Stories

Abstract

Abstract True to his aesthetic principles, Nabokov expresses his love for detail in imaginative naming strategies. The conspicuous absence of names as well as the deliberate use of multilingual names constitute an important facet of his short fiction. Nabokov challenges the reader to differentiate between names that evoke stereotypes and names whose etymology assumes significance, between the purposes of supposedly real names and of appellations admittedly invented by a secretive or ironic narrator. Names as aesthetic entities invite scrutiny of their sounds, their printed shapes, their associations with colors, with plants or other phenomena. As the examples will illustrate, the impact of names in Nabokov's stories ranges from comic or tragic effects to intricate patterns of interrelated meanings.