Spring in Fialta
Encyclopedia
Spring in Fialta is a short story
written by Vladimir Nabokov
in 1936, originally as Весна в Фиальте (Vesna v Fial'te) in Russian, during his exile in Berlin
. The English translation was performed by Nabokov and Peter Pertzov. Spring in Fialta is included in Nine Stories
and Nabokov's Dozen
.
, the relationship to the double, the unreliable narrator
, and a narrative flow that is non-chronological. It has been argued that both the narrator as well as Nina’s husband bear resemblances to Nabokov. While the plot is invented it has been suspected that the encounter is a "tangential record" of Nabokov's first extramarital affair. Nabokov's attempts to publish the manuscript in English when in America was met with initial disappointments, he talked about a "boomerang variety of manuscript".
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written by Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
in 1936, originally as Весна в Фиальте (Vesna v Fial'te) in Russian, during his exile in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The English translation was performed by Nabokov and Peter Pertzov. Spring in Fialta is included in Nine Stories
Nine Stories (Nabokov)
Nine Stories is an English-language collection of stories written in Russian, French, and English by Vladimir Nabokov. It was published in 1947 by New Directions in New York City, as the second issue of a serial, Direction.The nine stories are:...
and Nabokov's Dozen
Nabokov's Dozen
Nabokov's Dozen a collection of 13 short stories by Vladimir Nabokov previously published in American magazines. All were later reprinted within The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov....
.
Synopsis
By chance, Victor, the narrator, encounters Nina, a fellow exile, at Fialta, a fictional Mediterranean town at the Riviera. Both are married, and they had met on several occasions over the years since their first kiss in Russia, “at the margins of my life”. She is attractive, seemingly aloof, and ephemeral, and it appears that he harbors amatory feelings for her, but he lacks the full conviction of the feeling of true love. The story recalls past encounters, and relates Victor's deprecatory and possibly jealous views of Ferdinand, her husband, an “arrogant” Franco-Hungarian writer, a “weaver of words”. He declines to join Nina and her husband on a car ride. Shortly thereafter Victor learns that Nina has died in a car crash.Comments
The story incorporates many of Nabokov’s themes and techniques that are present in later novels: recreating events by memory, the issue of reality, relationship to women, the sense of loss, recalling RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, the relationship to the double, the unreliable narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
, and a narrative flow that is non-chronological. It has been argued that both the narrator as well as Nina’s husband bear resemblances to Nabokov. While the plot is invented it has been suspected that the encounter is a "tangential record" of Nabokov's first extramarital affair. Nabokov's attempts to publish the manuscript in English when in America was met with initial disappointments, he talked about a "boomerang variety of manuscript".