The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)

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Places Discussed

*St. Petersburg. Capital of Imperial Russia that is the birthplace of both Sebastian and V. The novel initially depicts the city in winter in poetic terms, down to the shade that horse dung colors the snow. V.’s description, which compares his own memories of the city with a view of it on a postcard, introduces the theme of the disparity between “reality” and memory, with neither privileged at any one time. This theme is reinforced when V. visits their old governess, who, although her personal experience of living in Russia is minimal, has turned it in...

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