The Metafictional Realm in Vladimir Nabokov's "Look at the Harlequins!"

Abstract

The research will shed light on the metafictional world as new genre to be discovered. Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov invents new way of writing. He has presented his life and career via producing a fictional and real world "Metafictional realm". Nabokov represents a strategy to evoke an artist who is prototypical character through his novel Look at the Harlequins! His presentation reflects the duality between what is real and what is fictional. This research will show how Nabokov will successfully light these two vague worlds. Moreover, it traces back the illusive or hidden world that penetrates through the two worlds. Patricia Waugh has written her genuine account Metafiction in order to interpret the imaginative picture of the author's mental world. It echoes a revelation of double workable mind. Metafiction is the representation of the outside and inside intermingled realm of the novelists' mind. Waugh states that Metafiction reveals "self-consciousness" and "self-awareness" of the two creating world. She introduces many strategies and structures in presenting the fictional and real of "self-conscious" of the author. She refers to Nabokov's work as a realm of metafictional world. Nabokov evokes the "fictional and real" through his novel Look at the Harlequins!. The study shows how the novelist conflates his text within another context. It proves that this text gives outside and inside protagonists. Nabokov reveals his works via creating another novelist's works. This novel mirrors the two mingled worlds. One of them is the fictional world of Vadim Vadimovich N. who is the narrator and the protagonist of Look at the Harlequins! Whereas, the other world is the real one which is presented by Nabokov's fictional career. This study will be the guideline to be followed for interpreting the postmodernists' text and context. It will introduce new genre in writing novel, which is metafiction and its elements. Such scope will present an outstanding study for readers particularly the scholars, instructors and critics in their fields. Moreover, it will view how postmodernists highlight reality through their novel. The scope of the study covers Postmodernist's metafiction particularly Vladimir Nabokov