My only grudge against nature was that I could not turn my Lolita inside out and apply voracious lips to her young matrix, her unknown heart, her nacreous liver, the sea-grapes of her lungs, her comely twin kidneys.
Vladimir NabokovRead
No author has created with less emphasis such pathetic characters as Chekhov has.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Nabokov highlights Chekhov's ability to portray deeply human characters with subtlety and nuance.
In this quote, Vladimir Nabokov is praising Anton Chekhov's unique talent for crafting characters that, despite their often understated presentation, evoke strong emotions and empathy in readers. Nabokov implies that Chekhov's genius lies in his ability to create relatable and profound characters without resorting to overt dramatics, allowing their complexities to resonate on a deeper level.
Themes
ChekhovCharactersSubtletyEmpathyArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary critique that discusses character development in Chekhov's works.
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All quotes βLolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
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A change of environment is the traditional fallacy upon which doomed loves, and lungs, rely.
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...in my dreams the world would come alive, becoming so captivatingly majestic, free and ethereal, that afterwards it would be oppressive to breathe the dust of this painted life.
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I believe the poor fierce-eyed child had figured out that with a mere fifty dollars in her purse she might somehow reach Broadway or Hollywood - or the foul kitchen of a diner (Help Wanted) in a dismal ex-prairie state, with the wind blowing, and the stars blinking, and the cars, and the bars, and the barmen, and everything soiled, torn, dead.
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