CRYPTOPOETICS OF V. NABOKOV’S NOVEL “THE REAL LIFE OF SEBASTIAN KNIGHT”

Abstract

The article examines the cryptopoetics of V. V. Nabokov’s first Eng- lish-language novel “The Real Life of Sebastian Knight” (1938–1939). It demon- strates that this novel is a curious example of the writer’s cryptopoetics, in which many specific circumstances of his personal life were obscured and radically transformed. A special role in the cryptopoetics of the novel is played by the allusive chess symbolism, which has been discussed more than once, but the meaning of which remained unclear. The key to this meaning turns out to be the deeply camouflaged autobiographical subtext of “The Real Life…”. Written shortly after Nabokov’s profound infatuation with Nina Guadanini, this novel is structured this way to show that Sebastian Knight’s only true love was Claire Bishop, and Madame Lecerf (Nina Toorovetz-Rechnoy) was just an episode in his life. The chess mystery of the novel, in which the queen (Madame Lecerf) is defeated by the bishop (Claire Bishop), is set up in unison with this motif. Meanwhile, the surname of the heroine of the novel “Bishop” allusively refers to the writer’s wife Vera Slonim. Thus, not only the crypto-, but also the psychopoetics of the novel is important for understanding the text