Speak, Memory Memory Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)

Quote #7

Whenever in my dreams I see the dead, they always appear silent, bothered, strangely depressed, quite unlike their dear, bright selves. (2.4.6)

Nabokov seems to be differentiating dreams and memories here: while memories call us back, dreams use memories for their own disturbing reasons.

Quote #8

A sense of security, of well-being, of summer warmth pervades my memory. That robust reality makes a ghost of the present. The mirror brims with brightness; a bumblebee has entered the room and bumps against the ceiling. Everything is as it should be, nothing will ever change, nobody will ever die. (3.7.2)

Here, Nabokov is remembering his Uncle Ruka looking at a children's book he once loved. Nabokov often seems to treat objects as keys to the past, which unlock doors to more detail and sensation.

Quote #9

The disintegrating process continues still, in a different sense, for when, nowadays, I attempt to follow in memory the winding paths from one given point to another, I notice with alarm that there are many gaps, due to oblivion or ignorance, akin to the terra-incognita blanks map makers of old used to call "sleeping beauties." (6.6.1)

Maps can be some pretty handy tools for recollection. At the start of the book, Nabokov offers us a map of his childhood home in Russia. Elsewhere, he recalls tracing the Vyra estate in the sand, while on vacation.