V. 나보코프의 『롤리타』 다시 읽기: 『절망』과 『어둠속의 웃음』과의 비교연구를 중심으로 (Revisiting V. Nabokov’s Lolita: A Comparative Study with Despair and Laughter in the Dark)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국현대영미소설학회
· 수록지 정보 : 현대영미소설 / 24권 / 1호 / 117 ~ 157페이지
· 저자명 : 이준영

초록

This study focuses on bringing up a new critical perspective for understanding V. Nabokov’s Lolita by comparing it with his two other novels: Despair and Laughter in the Dark. They have such a strong parallel with Lolita in terms of the plot and the theme that it is even possible to call those three works of Nabokov as a trilogy of Lolita. In a very similar way of Lolita, these novels portray the artist-wannabe heroes who have envisioned themselves as inspirational artists yearning to create their own blissful worlds of art. However, like Humbert Humbert in Lolita, both of the heroes, Hermann in Despair and Albinus in Laughter in the Dark, fail miserably in their projects of creating the blissful worlds of art.
In his discourse of literature, Nabokov emphasizes the artist's “capacity to wonder at trifles” and “the highest forms of consciousness” in order to create the alternative world of art in which time and commonsense should be transcended by the power of the conjurer, the artistic imagination. However, all the attempts of creating the blissful alternative worlds of art in the three novels have been frustrated tragically and ironically, which means that the artistic inspiration for creating a perfect world of art is almost impossible both in the realm of the real world and in that of the art. Therefore, in contrast to Nabokov's inspirational vision of the blissful world of art in which “curiosity, tenderness, kindness, and ecstasy” is the norm, the trilogy of Lolita implies, grimly and cynically, a pessimistic denial of the capacity of creating the blissful world of art by mere humans.

영어초록

This study focuses on bringing up a new critical perspective for understanding V. Nabokov’s Lolita by comparing it with his two other novels: Despair and Laughter in the Dark. They have such a strong parallel with Lolita in terms of the plot and the theme that it is even possible to call those three works of Nabokov as a trilogy of Lolita. In a very similar way of Lolita, these novels portray the artist-wannabe heroes who have envisioned themselves as inspirational artists yearning to create their own blissful worlds of art. However, like Humbert Humbert in Lolita, both of the heroes, Hermann in Despair and Albinus in Laughter in the Dark, fail miserably in their projects of creating the blissful worlds of art.
In his discourse of literature, Nabokov emphasizes the artist's “capacity to wonder at trifles” and “the highest forms of consciousness” in order to create the alternative world of art in which time and commonsense should be transcended by the power of the conjurer, the artistic imagination. However, all the attempts of creating the blissful alternative worlds of art in the three novels have been frustrated tragically and ironically, which means that the artistic inspiration for creating a perfect world of art is almost impossible both in the realm of the real world and in that of the art. Therefore, in contrast to Nabokov's inspirational vision of the blissful world of art in which “curiosity, tenderness, kindness, and ecstasy” is the norm, the trilogy of Lolita implies, grimly and cynically, a pessimistic denial of the capacity of creating the blissful world of art by mere humans.

참고자료

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