NPPF: Open The Multiple Levels Of Perception

[s~Z]

>From the Nabokv-L. Further evidence of valuable crossover in discussing VN
on the P-list:

Dear All,

 I recently completed my dissertation upon multiple levels of perception in
Nabokov's fiction at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. And it was
submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master
of Arts in English Literature.

I thought I would post my introduction to see what everyone thought on the
topic and maybe get some feedback. It was my last piece of work for my
degree and the one which I most enjoyed writing.

Best wishes
 James Veitch
--------------------------------------

"Reality is an infinite succession of steps, levels of perception, false
bottoms, and hence unquenchable, unattainable.¹" (Vladimir Nabokov, Strong
Opinions. p.11).

An examination of the creation and application of multiple levels of
reality
in: The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, Lolita, and Pale Fire



In a published transcript from an interview Vladimir Nabokov writes that,
"Reality is an infinite succession of levels, levels of perception, of false
bottoms, and hence unquenchable, unattainable." A reading of Nabokov's
fiction both inspires and requires the suspension of the reader's desire to
discern from the text a singular definitive 'meaning.' Nabokov employs a
polyphony of voices, realities, interpretations and hence 'levels of
perception,' within his fiction that would seem, at first, to implore the
reader to discern from them a series of empirical interpretations; voice,
metafictional reality, character identity and overall meaning. Yet, an
immersion in these 'levels of perception' forces the reader into a state of
perpetual flux, shifting perspectives and responding to a text flooded with
a plurality of voices and interpretations; in order to discern a definitive
reality the reader must define them, yet even as the reader tries to do this
the boundaries begin to break down and realities, identities and perceptions
start to merge, sending the reader reeling through an 'infinite succession
of levels' and dropping him through numerous 'false bottoms.' Nabokov's
fiction thwarts any fixed interpretation; 'true' meaning is, like 'reality,'
'unquenchable, unattainable,' and the clever critic wastes no time on what
always proves a fruitless task. A full appreciation of Nabokov's fiction
relies upon a delicate and simultaneous suspension of all these worlds,
disallowing one to take precedence over another and allowing for and
inspiring multiple (and concurrent) levels of perception in the mind of the
reader. Levels of perception co-exist; metafiction exists only in relation
to its fiction and thus it is a mistake to deconstruct Nabokov's
meticulously constructed levels into their parts; particularly so as Nabokov
anticipates and entirely prevents this (as we shall see) through providing
boundaries that shimmer, shake and merge.

Through the induced invocation of many 'worlds,' the reader is able to side
step succumbing to any fixed interpretation or any 'true' reality and is
able to restrain treading down the perilous path towards, 'authorial
intention.' Nabokov, however, does not make the job an easy one. Iris Barry
comments that The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is 'full of barbs and
pitfalls,' and, through analysis of his work, we find these are not limited
to Sebastian Knight but are ubiquitous to Nabokov's fiction. She goes on to
comment that the book, 'deludes the reader consciously,' and, as we shall
see, Nabokov (who once commented that, 'Art at its greatest is fantastically
deceitful and complex.') developed this theme of delusion and deceit from
The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (1941) through Lolita (1955) culminating
into his most complex, compelling and trap-laden creation, Pale Fire (1962)
which positively teems with 'barbs and pitfalls.' By laying traps that
ensnare the unsuspecting reader; luring him into a contrived chain of
thought, an interpretation that leads, inevitably to a false conclusion: a
didactic truism, a 'moral message,' an 'authorial intervention,' Nabokov
both ridicules these traditional modes of interpretation and directs the
reader towards the alternative; that of non-didactic and subjective
interpretation. The sensitive reader treads carefully and recognises, learns
from and forgoes following these meticulously crafted false scents but
instead revels in the transcendental plurality of worlds found in the text.
This study attempts to examine the ways in which The Real Life of Sebastian
Knight, Lolita and Pale Fire, fashion multiple worlds and interpretations
and allow and encourage them to coexist in a reading. It shall examine how
the use of seemingly conflicting realities has been the cause of much
critical debate and yet how arguing over the presiding reality of the text
is, in a sense, becoming ensnared in the 'barbs and pitfalls' which the
reader should be wary of.