"Memory" in "Speak, Memory " isn't just half of the title: it's the obsession on which the whole book is built. For Nabokov, memory is a constantly shifting set of impressions and images, and he's set on putting down (and then revising) an account of his life and time—and exactly how he remembers them—the best he can. Ultimately, Nabokov is using his own life story as a way to think about memory as identity: what we remember and how we remember it? That helps us understand who were are.
Questions About Memory
- As Nabokov writes in the book's foreword, he's written and translated and revised this text several times over. But memories can be replaced. Which feels more important to you: accuracy of remembered facts, or accuracy of remembered emotions? Why?
- For Nabokov, his childhood memories are some of his strongest. Why do you think this is?
- For the Nabokovs, remembering is a "hereditary trait." How does this family's affection for remembering set them apart from most? (Does it?)
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
For Nabokov, putting down memories are a way of preserving his life, of making the dead immortal.
It doesn't matter for Nabokov if memories are completely accurate: human emotions tell a better story anyway.