A Nursery Tale
Encyclopedia
A Nursery Tale is a short story
by Vladimir Nabokov
first published in the expatriate Russian newspaper Rul on 27 and 29 June 1926 and in the book form in The Return of Chorb in 1930. The English translation by the author and his son, Dmitri Nabokov
has appeared in 1975 in collection Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories
.
in the shape of a German middle-aged women, Frau Monde, who tells him he can have all the women he can “collect” before midnight provided their number is uneven. Erwin tries to do so but ultimately fails.
that is later spun out in Lolita
. This may be the earliest reference in Nabokov’s work to the attraction of pubescent girls.
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...
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...
first published in the expatriate Russian newspaper Rul on 27 and 29 June 1926 and in the book form in The Return of Chorb in 1930. The English translation by the author and his son, Dmitri Nabokov
Dmitri Nabokov
Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov is an American opera singer and translator. He is the only child of writer Vladimir Nabokov and his wife Vera Nabokov, and is currently executor of his father's literary estate.-Background:...
has appeared in 1975 in collection Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories
Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories
Tyrants Destroyed and Other Stories is a collection of thirteen short stories by Vladimir Nabokov. All but the last one were written in Russian by Nabokov between 1924 and 1939 as an expatriate in Berlin, Paris, and Menton, and later translated into English by him and his son, Dmitri Nabokov. These...
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Plot summary
Erwin, the protagonist, is shy and “collects” an imaginary harem of women by tagging them mentally when looking from the streetcar. One day, he encounters the DevilDevil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
in the shape of a German middle-aged women, Frau Monde, who tells him he can have all the women he can “collect” before midnight provided their number is uneven. Erwin tries to do so but ultimately fails.
Comments
The story makes reference to a teenage girl as one of the women Erwin tries to make part of his collection, an early reference to the theme of hebephiliaHebephilia
Hebephilia refers to the sexual preference for individuals in the early years of puberty . Girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11; boys at age 11 or 12...
that is later spun out in Lolita
Lolita
Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
. This may be the earliest reference in Nabokov’s work to the attraction of pubescent girls.