How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He tried to teach me to find the geometrical coordinations between the slender twigs of a leafless boulevard tree, a system of visual give-and-takes, requiring a precision of linear expression, which I failed to achieve in my youth, but applied gratefully, [...]not only to the drawing of butterfly genitalia during my seven years at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, [...] but also, perhaps, to certain camera-lucida needs of literary composition. (4.5.5)
Even if you don't buy that Nabokov made use of his childhood drawing education as an adult writer, it's hard not to admire his ability to draw relationships between visual art, Lepidoptera, and writing books. This interdisciplinary approach reflects the kind of educational experience Vladimir got as a kid, with tutors for everything from drawing to French to science.
Quote #2
"...I don't know what kind of teacher he was, but I do know that you were the most hopeless pupil I ever had." (5.5.9)
It's funny to think of Vladimir Nabokov, this super-smart writer/thinker type as a terrible student, but here (and at Cambridge) it seems that he had trouble with directed learning. But clearly, he had no problem with his own self-motivated scholarly pursuits. Why do you think this is?
Quote #3
In choosing our tutors, my father seems to have hit upon the ingenious idea of engaging each time a representative of another class or race, so as to expose us to all the winds that swept over the Russian Empire. (8.1.2)
By having tutors of all backgrounds, Vladimir will learn to appreciate the worth of people from every walk of life. Here's a place where Vladimir's father's politics guide his parenting, or so it "seems." This is a guess on Nabokov's part. Do you agree?