Strelnikova L.Yu.

The phenomenon of a mask in V. V. Nabokov’s fiction in the context of aesthetics of modernist theater. Pp. 139–148.

UDC 821.161.1-3.09″19″

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2025.86.1.015

 

Abstract. The aim of the article is to consider the theoretical and literary aspects of the phenomenon of literary mask in V. V. Nabokov’s modernist work. The study of the author’s mask in Nabokov’s works allows us to consider its significance, both in literary and psychological terms. The literary mask reveals the human ability to play, a desire to escape from the real world into the realm of fantasies, expressing instability and duality of consciousness and at the same time giving a sense of freedom of action. The main types of masks of Nabokov’s work are the hero and the author. Nabokov stood at the beginning of the Russian modernist theater, adopting N. Evreinov’s theory of the necessity of theatricalization of life, as well as introducing into his works a special type of autobio-reconstructive mask, reflecting the special state of the hero and seeking to dramatize fragments of his memories. The mask of the character captures the simulacrum of personality, its puppet-like quality, which corresponded to Nabokov’s modernist aesthetic drive: to subordinate the truth of life to art. In choosing his characters, Nabokov transforms them into masks, depriving them of personal content and demonstrating his power as a performance artist, a manipulator of human lives. As for the presence of the author in the work, Nabokov does not hide it, but rather deliberately exposes himself as the author-demiurge, the director of his own puppet theater. The author’s voice dominates and subordinates the characters, without allowing them to show their individuality, and thus encouraging the reader to engage in playing with the text. The results of the study can be used in university courses of teaching Russian literature of the 20th century, as well as research material for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students.

 

Keywords: autobio-reconstructive mask, author’s mask, hyperreality, N. Evreinov, V. V. Nabokov, modernist theater, simulacrum.

 

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