Nabokov devotes Chapter Five to the governess, who spends the longest time raising he and his brother Sergey. They referred to her simply as "Mademoiselle." She begins her employment with the family in 1905, when Nabokov is six.
The family had spent almost an entire year abroad, but is finally returning to Russia. St. Petersburg is still experiencing some civil unrest, so Nabokov's father first brings them to the family's country estate in Vyra. Mademoiselle arrives in winter from her native Switzerland, bringing with her the one word she knows in Russian, "gde," meaning "Where?"
She is a corpulent woman with a hearing problem that becomes serious in later years, and an enchanting French, which seems to be her only endearing characteristic. She reads many novels to the boys, all in French, with a smooth,.....
This is a free excerpt of 135 words. This section contains 790 words. This
study guide contains 23,772 words (approx. 79 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited Access Pass.
