Unreliable Narrator and Its Pragmatic Effects in V. V. Nabokov’s “Pale Fire”

Abstract

This article examines the narrative technique employed by V. V. Nabokov in his novel “Pale Fire,” reflecting postmodern skepticism towards metanarratives by subverting the formal elements of literary texts. The narrative is presented through the lens of an unreliable first-person narrator, Charles Kinbote, who, in his self-appointed role as commentator on John Shade’s poetic text, challenges established narrative norms, thereby destabilizing the structure of the novel. The aim of this study is to trace how Kinbote’s irrationalist approach to linguistic nominations complicates the reader’s access to the deeper meanings embedded within the text. It is established that the theme of Shade’s poem, which serves as the subject of Kinbote’s academic commentary, possesses an unstable form, leaving the reader unable to definitively identify character representations or ascertain whether the presented version of the poem is final. The unreliable narrator oscillates between two distinct narrative threads — one pertaining to the universe of New Wye and the other to the imagined world of Zembla — while simultaneously adopting various identities. The conclusion drawn is that the psychological profile of the commentator calls into question the veracity of his character, as he struggles to assess the relevance of disparate fragments of information.