Nabokov’s Judeo-Christian values informed his creative universe

Although there exists a widely held belief that the acclaimed novelist and Cornell professor Vladimir Nabokov was an arrogant atheist, "nothing could be further from the truth," says literary scholar Gavriel Shapiro, Professor Emeritus of Comparative and Russian Literature in the College of Arts and Sciences.

In his recently released study, "Exploring Vladimir Nabokov's Creative Universe: Themes and Devices," Shapiro argues that Christian faith influenced Nabokov's imagination and shaped his fiction. Aside from a handful of scholars, Shapiro says, this attitude is largely overlooked or even dismissed. He wrote this book, which is available for preview online, to demonstrate that Nabokov's worldview was informed by Judeo-Christian values.

The book begins with a discussion of the faith that Nabokov absorbed from his God-loving parents, and that became the source of his world perception. Shapiro contends that Nabokov's faith rests on the following three "whales:" belief in otherworldliness, similitude between a creator and the Creator, and trust in the Divine.

In honor of Nabokov's birthday, April 23, Shapiro spoke with the College of Arts and Sciences about the book.

Read the interview on the College of Arts and Sciences website.