A Study Of Repetition In "Invitation To A Beheading" From The Perspective Of Miller’s Repetition Theory

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a Russian-American writer."Invitation to a Beheading" is a novel written by Nabokov in his early days.Although the writer calls it "a violin of self-indulgence" in the introduction of the book,we can feel in the interview that the writer favors this work,he mentioned that "the most beloved work is "Lolita" and the most highly rated work is "Invitation to a Beheading",and calling it his "most fantastic and poetic novel".In order to effectively observe the wonders of literary language,Hillis Miller put forward repetition theory in his book "Fiction and Repetition",which offers a new way to understand literary works,arguing that various repetitive phenomena and their complex patterns of activity are secret passages to the core of the work,and that repetition not only forms the inner structure of the work,but also determines its diverse relationships with external factors.These views of Miller coincide with Nabokov’s ideas of focusing on textual details,seeing the real world only as an intermediary source from which the artist can draw,and believing that literary works create new meanings on the occasion of being read repeatedly.This paper is a study of Nabokov’s long story "Invitation to a Beheading",consisting of introduction,four chapters and conclusion.The introduction introduces Nabokov’s life and his works,categorizes and summarizes the overview of domestic and international research on "Invitation to a Beheading",and clarifies the research method and innovation points of this paper.Chapter one focuses on elucidating Miller’s theory of repetition,clarifying the theory’s discussion of imagery,events and themes,and briefly elaborating on the intellectual origins and historical development of the concept of repetition,Miller’s life and critical experiences.Chapter two discusses the repetition of imagery in "Invitation to a Beheading",classifying the recurring typical imagery according to place,costume,animal and color imagery,exploring the profound connotations behind each type of imagery,and discovering the commonalities that govern the various types of repetitive imagery.Chapter three summarizes the repetition of events in "Invitation to a Beheading",grouping the dramatic conflicts between the characters into events in which different transparent people "deceive" the protagonist in the name of love,family and friendship,and events in which the protagonist "escapes" from the three shackles,so as to sort out the potential connection and meaning of the series of repeated events.Chapter four analyzes the reasons for the recurrence of Nabokov’s theme of "two worlds" in his works,and illustrates the multiple meanings covered by the author’s theme of two worlds through the novel "Invitation to a Beheading".In conclusion,we conclude that the different scales of repetition in Invitation to a Beheading are characterized by heterogeneity,and that these meanings are arranged in an orderly manner under the umbrella of the theme of "two worlds",demonstrating the complexity and ingenuity of Nabokov’s creative structure and the exquisite wit of his linguistic style.