OTHERNESS IN NABOKOV’S HERMANN, HUMBERT AND KINBOTE

Abstract

As one of the key notions in postmodern theory, Otherness is defined as a quality of being different and separate from the Self. Within the postmodern theory, it is defined within the center-margin binary opposition discussed by theoreticians such as Linda Hutcheon. Yet, long before the theory, three of Nabokov’s novels depicted the concept of Otherness in their respective protagonists. Hermann in Despair, Humbert in Lolita and Kinbote in Pale Fire are assigned the role of the Other in their communities on different levels, all of which lead them to construct their own alternative realities where the margin is the center. This paper discusses the occurrence of the theoretical concept of the Other in the novels that predate the official theory of Otherness. The reoccurrence of the concept of the Other in literature, (especially in the period before the theoretical framework officially appeared) testify to the high relevance of the theory and the concept for discussing different phenomena of the human spirit and artistic experience.