Nabokov and the Question of Morality : Aesthetics, Metaphysics, and the Ethics of Fiction

The First Collection To Address The Vexing Issue Of Nabokov{u2019}s Moral Stances, This Book Argues That He Designed His Novels And Stories As Open-ended Ethical Problems For Readers To Confront. In A Dozen New Essays, International Nabokov Scholars Tackle Those Problems Directly While Addressing Such Questions As Whether Nabokov Was A Bad Reader, How He Defined Evil, If He Believed In God, And How He Constructed Fictional Works That Led Readers To Become Aware Of Their Own Moral Positions. In Order To Elucidate His Engagement With Aesthetics, Metaphysics, And Ethics, Nabokov And The Question Of Morality Explores Specific Concepts In The Volume{u2019}s Four Sections: 2responsible Reading,3 2good And Evil,3 2agency And Altruism,3 And 2the Ethics Of Representation.3 By Bringing Together Fresh Insights From Leading Nabokovians And Emerging Scholars, This Book Establishes New Interdisciplinary Contexts For Nabokov Studies And Generates Lively Readings Of Works From His Entire Career. -- 1 Introduction: Nabokov's Morality Plan / Michael Rodgers And Susan Elizabeth Sweeney -- Part I Responsible Reading -- 2 And So The Password Is-?: Nabokov And The Ethics Of Rereading / Tom Whalen -- 3 Nabokov And Dostoevsky: Good Writer, Bad Reader? / Julian Connolly -- 4 The Will To Disempower? Nabokov And His Readers / Michael Rodgers -- Part Ii Good And Evil -- 5 Nabokov's God; God's Nabokov / Samuel Schuman -- 6 By Trial And Error / Gennady Barabtarlo -- 7 The Aesthetics Of Moral Contrsdiction In Some Early Nabokov Novels / David Rampton -- Part Iii Agency And Altruism -- 8 Loving And Giving In Nabokov's The Gift / Jacqueline Hamrit -- 9 Kinbote's Heroism / Laurence Piercy -- Part Iv The Ethics Of Representation -- 10 Whether Judgements, Sentences And Executions Satisfy The Moral Sense In Nabokov / Susan Elizabeth Sweeney -- 11 The Art Of Morality, Or On Lolita / Leland De La Durantaye -- 12 Obnoxious Preoccupation With Sex Organs: The Ethics And Aestethics Of Representing Sex / Elspeth Jajdelska -- 13 Modern Mimesis / Michael Wood. Michael Rodgers, Susan Elizabeth Sweeney, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The first collection to address the vexing issue of Nabokov's moral stances, this book argues that he designed his novels and stories as open-ended ethical problems for readers to confront. In a dozen new essays, international Nabokov scholars tackle those problems directly while addressing such questions as whether Nabokov was a bad reader, how he defined evil, if he believed in God, and how he constructed fictional works that led readers to become aware of their own moral positions. In order to elucidate his engagement with aesthetics, metaphysics, and ethics, Nabokov and the Question of Morality explores specific concepts in the volume's four sections: 2Responsible Reading,3 2Good and Evil,3 2Agency and Altruism,3 and 2The Ethics of Representation. 3 By bringing together fresh insights from leading Nabokovians and emerging scholars, this book establishes new interdisciplinary contexts for Nabokov studies and generates lively readings of works from his entire career. -- From publisher's website Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction: Nabokov’s Morality Play....Pages 1-18 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 “And So the Password Is—?”: Nabokov and the Ethics of Rereading....Pages 21-32 Nabokov and Dostoevsky: Good Writer, Bad Reader?....Pages 33-49 The Will to Disempower? Nabokov and His Readers....Pages 51-69 Front Matter....Pages 71-71 Nabokov’s God; God’s Nabokov....Pages 73-86 By Trial and Terror....Pages 87-108 The Aesthetics of Moral Contradiction in Some Early Nabokov Novels....Pages 109-125 Front Matter....Pages 127-127 Loving and Giving in Nabokov’s The Gift ....Pages 129-142 Kinbote’s Heroism....Pages 143-158 Front Matter....Pages 159-159 Whether Judgments, Sentences, and Executions Satisfy the Moral Sense in Nabokov....Pages 161-181 The Art of Morality, or on Lolita ....Pages 183-196 “Obnoxious Preoccupation with Sex Organs”: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Representing Sex....Pages 197-212 Modern Mimesis....Pages 213-224 Back Matter....Pages 225-241