The writer's wife as a vocation: the love story of Vladimir Nabokov and Vera Slonim

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The wife of a writer, a creative person and therefore not always predictable, is a mission. A woman is no longer just a friend, mistress and mistress, she is a critic and editor, an inspiration for new works and their first reader. And only time will be able to judge whether the writer's wife has become not just a spouse, but a true support for her talented husband. One of the women who can be called the real “wife of the writer” is Vera Slonim, the faithful wife of Vladimir Nabokov.

Poetry as a reason for dating

The acquaintance of Vladimir and Vera happened thanks to the poems that Nabokov wrote. But this is the only thing that unites the two versions of their first meeting. It is not known for certain how each of the stories was born, and how believable they are. But in both cases there is originality and intrigue - exactly what could captivate an extraordinary writer.

The first story tells how, at one of the masquerade balls for Russian emigrants in Berlin, a girl in a wolf mask turned to Vladimir with a proposal to take a walk in the city at night. Intrigued, he, of course, agreed and did not regret it, because the walk was devoted to discussing his work, which the girl knew perfectly. And the presence of the mask added to the mystery.

According to the second version, Vera made an appointment with a letter to Nabokov on the bridge, where she read his poems in such a way that she conquered the creator of works with her knowledge of his work.

faith

Vera Slonim is the daughter of an enterprising Jew Yevsey Slonim. If her acquaintance with Nabokov had happened in Russia, then the continuation would hardly have happened - the Jewish wife did not contribute to the popularity of the poet. But since events took place in Berlin, and besides, Vera's father was the owner of the publishing house, nothing interfered with the relationship. In addition, Vera was also a good match due to her excellent education, intelligence and excellent memory. All these talents later became just a valuable gift for her husband.

After they met, there were two years of correspondence. In one of his letters, Nabokov writes to Vera "I cannot imagine my life without you …". But if Vera was completely absorbed in relations with the writer, her wealthy father was not at all enthusiastic about this. Being a practical man, he saw no material prospects for a writer in Germany and wished for a more prosperous marriage for his daughter.

Family life

Apparently, assuming that Vera would not receive permission for the wedding, she and Vladimir secretly got married in 1925 and put the family in front of this fact. The poor family life did not bother Vera, and Nabokov found in her not only a reliable ally, but also a breadwinner - Vera worked as a stenographer in a law office. Nabokov got the opportunity to completely surrender to creativity. After all, everything that he could not do - drive a car, speak German and even type on a typewriter - was taken over by a young wife. Already in the first years of marriage, Nabokov wrote "The Gift", "Luzhin's Protection", "Camera Obscura". His wife sees in him a great writing talent.

In 1934 they had a son named Dmitry. And in 1937 the Nabokovs went to Paris.

A secret love that suddenly became apparent

Beautiful France, where they left Hitlerite Germany with such relief, presented their family with a serious test. Nabokov could not contain his passion and cheated on his wife, which Vera learned from mutual acquaintances. Irina Guadanini became the beloved of the writer, perhaps not such an intellectual as Vera Slonim, but also subdued by Nabokov's poems. Irina was engaged in dog grooming and was incredibly attractive.

When Vera found out about her husband's relationship on the side, she put him before a choice, and he, of course, stayed with his family. True, for some time he continued to secretly meet with Irina and write letters to her. Having learned about this, Vera announced a real boycott to her husband, and the choice in favor of the proven and reliable companion of Vera was finally made.

Dear BB

In 1940, the Nabokov family left for New York. The last money was used to buy tickets for the steamer and open visas. Arriving in America, Nabokov, at the suggestion of his wife, writes his novels in English. In 1939, the first English-language novel, The True Life of Sebastian Knight, was published in the States. Here the role of the earner passed to Nabokov. English was not Vera's strong point, and her husband had to earn extra money until he managed to get a job at Welsh College as a teacher of literature and Russian. Subsequently, Nabokov lectured at Cornell University. Vera, as a reliable friend and helper, was there even during his lessons - from checking students' homework and prompting forgotten quotes to exams - the writer's faithful companion was capable of everything. They were so friendly and inseparable that friends, if they sent letters to their family, indicated in the addressee "Dear VV" - "Dear Vladimir and Vera."

Vera was well versed in publishing and successfully became an agent of her famous husband - she answered correspondence, negotiated with publishers, controlled payment for works and translated his texts.

Taking upon herself practical and material concerns, Vera helped her husband not only from a practical point of view. Knowing the character of Nabokov - and he could joke for the sake of composing something non-existent from his biography to journalists, or even spoil relations with the writing fraternity at once, criticize the work of his comrade, and it happened that he pretended not to see someone from his acquaintances, if he didn’t want to greet them, Vera, by her diplomatic intervention, separated Vladimir from the outside world as best she could, giving him the opportunity to fully devote time to creativity.

According to some biographers, those who knew the Nabokov couple, however, had the impression that the wife was too strict with the writer, and her control was often excessive. For example, Vera always spoke to the callers on the phone in their house. But few people knew that it was all about the fact that Nabokov never learned how to use the telephone. One way or another, but Vera so firmly and truly existed in the life of Nabokov that practically every heroine of his novel can appear to the reader as one or another feature of his companion.

Rescue of "Lolita"

The salvation of the novel "Lolita" is also the merit of a faithful reader of Nabokov's manuscripts - Vera. The writer rewrote chapters more than once, tore out pages and tried to burn his famous creation. And this would certainly have happened if Vera and her confidence that the novel would become famous. And partly thanks to this intercession, the novel was successfully completed in 1953, and in 1955 it was published in France, and a little later in America. The popularity of the book was extraordinary! The family's income went up, made it possible for the couple to live respectably and calmly, having moved to the Swiss Montreux.

The attitude of biographers to Vera Slonim is ambiguous: some called her a faithful assistant to the writer, his agent and right hand, while others called her a domestic dictator and a real tyrant. But who can judge your soulmate if not her husband?“She is my double, who was created according to the same measure as me!” - Vladimir Nabokov himself said about his faithful Faith.

The happy ones then go hand in hand through life. But about the novel by Anna Akhmatova and Boris Anrep, you can say this - seven days of love and eternal separation …