Pnin (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Vladimir Nabokov
- First Published: 1957
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Philosophical realism
- Time of Work: 1950-1955
- Setting: Waindell College, in New England, and a nearby mountain resort
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s
- Locales: New England
Characters Discussed
Timofey Pavlovich Pnin (tih-moh- FAY PAV-loh-vihch pnihn), the protagonist, fifty-two years old in 1950, a Russian emigrant who teaches Russian language and literature at Waindell College. Bald and thick in the neck, he has a powerful torso but spindly legs. Because of his difficulties adjusting to American culture and the English language, Pnin often appears awkward and bungling, yet among his fellow émigrés, when speaking Russian, he is shown to be adroit and even erudite. Pnin is perpetually in search of “discreteness,” a safe haven where he can...
[The entire page is 1195 words long]
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