The ‘Eyes’ Have It: The Pleasures and Problems of Scopophilia in Nabokov’s Work

Abstract

This paper examines a distinctive aspect of the important theme of vision in Vladimir Nabokov’s work—the pleasure that one person may derive from observing another person, often of the opposite sex. While many episodes of voyeurism or scopophilia involve a male character spying on a female character, Nabokov likes to complicate or even subvert this pattern, creating scenes in which males watch other males, or females take control of the gaze and observe male characters. The paper explores the delights and the discomforts that one might derive in Nabokov’s fictional world from spying on another, depending on whether one is the observer or the observed. While fully aware of the pleasure that some of his male characters gain from looking at a female figure from a safe distance, Nabokov enjoys destabilizing this impulse through parody, satire, and exaggeration, creating a rich portrait of human desire, longing, and frustration.