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• 1 2020-09-21T14:07:22-04:00 Invitation to a Beheading 44-59 7 Vladimir Nabokov plain 2020-12-14T08:55:57-05:00

  Richard Chen
  
  pg. 49 — “It is desirable that the inmate should not have at all, or if he does, should immediately himself suppress nocturnal dreams…”
  This is an important hint as to how to comprehend the absurdities presented in the novel Invitation to a Beheading. It is implied in this text that the lines between dreams and realities blur together, where actions that happen within a person's dreams may be punishable in reality. From this context, the reader must recognize that he or she is not reading the text in parallel to the current universe, but in the completely different universe created by the author, Nabokov, in which a person's spirit (i.e., a person's entity while in a dream, mind, or during "enlightenment") is a separate being than the physical being, yet both are equally responsible for each other's actions. This passage warns against the actions even in the dreams, hence the point: "suppress nocturnal dreams." 
  
  In the historical context, Invitation to a Beheading was originally published in 1935, a few years before the start of World War II and during Joseph Stalin's rise to power. Stalin's reign was notoriously filled with terror, famines, unrest, and power-struggles, where it has been noted that he executed political opponents and sent thousands to harsh forced-labor camps. His reign a few years before the novel's publication has him implementing what today is known as the "Great Terror," where fear grew within Stalin himself. He publicly called for the execution of thousands of factor workers, eliminated all political opponents (even those who served under Vladimir Lenin under the "Old Bolshevik Party"), exiled thousands of civilians whom was suspected or even were thought to have harbor thoughts of "ill-content," all the while Stalin remained insulated from public perception due to fears of assassinations. Whether or not Invitation to a Beheading represents the state of Russian politics at that point, it is interesting to analyze the parallels between the novel and the current affairs at that point in time. The passage highlighted may be a political commentary, which may parallel history, in which any thoughts of ill-content against the USSR (similar to a person causing a crime within a dream), may bring upon prosecution. 
  
  pg 49 - “The management shall in no case be responsible for the loss of property or of the inmate himself.” 
  Although there were many absurd rules posted on the prison wall, this one was by far the most interesting. The tone of this rule makes it seem as if the management was acting as a hospitality establishment. This clause is often seen within service establishments (any establishments in which it serves people, such as restaurants, hotels, libraries, etc.) where the customers chose to participate as a consumer to the specified management. This rule may be reminding the prisoner that he or she chose to participate in this establishment and are now a member of it, which draws parallels to governments being "chosen by the people" and thus, also rule over the people. 

  pg. 51 — heliotype
  A plate used for processing pictures or text through exposing it to a special kind of gelatin-like substance. 

  pg. 54 — “bald spot encircled by a dark crown of hair”
  This is extremely subtle, but could be a major detail that the reader may have missed. The librarian with the "bald spot encircled by a dark crown of hair" may be referring to a Catholic monk. This kind of hairstyle, in which a person shave most of their hair on their scalp except for a ring surrounding the bald spot, is called a tonsure. Though there are many different theories on why this tradition was widely practiced, some believe that shaved head was to imitate the hairstyle of Jesus's disciples. Others believe that it symbolizes that they are a servant to God. Regardless, because Invitation to a Beheading, tackles the subject of religion, recognizing subtle religious details is important to understanding the novel as a whole.

  pg. 57 — demain matin
  This is a French phrase, which translates to "tomorrow morning."