’s title, both in Russian [

] and in English, indicates its relationship to chivalric ideals of the knightly quest. Written in Russian in 1930, while Nabokov was living in Berlin, and first published serially in 1931-32, the novel was given at least three tentative titles before Nabokov (then writing as “Sirin”) arrived at

(“Deed” or “Exploit”). Two of these,

(“Golden Age”) and

(“Romantic Times”) indicate the centrality of chivalric romance to the novel. But Nabokov’s first working title invokes rather the idea of completion, of triumphant consummation, of becoming real: this was

, which means “Embodiment”.

combines the romantic overtones and the emphasis on the climactic end of the quest. When he…

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Citation: Collins, Emily. "Podvig". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 January 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2755, accessed 21 November 2024.]