THEATER CODE IN “INVITATION TO A BEHEADING” NOVEL BY VLADIMIR NABOKOV // Bulletin of BSU. Philology. - 2019. №1. . - С. 27-33.

THEATER CODE IN “INVITATION TO A BEHEADING” NOVEL BY VLADIMIR NABOKOV

UDK: 82-31

The article analyzes the theatrical beginning in one of the most famous novels by Vladi- mir Nabokov “Invitation to a Beheading” (1936). The purpose of the article is to under- stand the nature and forms of theatricality in the novel. The author presents the topos which serve as an analogue of theatrical scene: a cell in a prison, a terrace in the city, a house of the Cincinnatus family, a scaffold. Theatrical ways of portraying both real and character world with its disguises are described: director Rodrig Ivanovich, jailer Rodion, prison doctor. Mise en scene set and authorship of plot lines are shown. Various theatrical forms are presented: Drama Theater, circus, Puppet Theater, masquerade. There is a duality in the representation of the protagonist, which points to the unexplained relations between the outer and inner worlds.

“Invitation to a Beheading”; theater code; scene; characters dressing up; imaginary eventfulness; circus; masquerade; dolls.