Rib cage Quote by Vladimir Nabokov
““He stood up and took off the dressing gown, the skullcap, the slippers. He took off the linen trousers and shirt. He took off his head like a toupee, took off his collarbones like shoulder straps, took off his rib cage like a hauberk. He took off his hips and his legs, he took off his arms like gauntlets and threw them in a corner. What was left of him gradually dissolved, hardly coloring the air.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle, Vladimir Nabokov, 1969
The passage describes a gradual disintegration of a person, stripping away identity and physical form until nothing remains.
In simple terms: A person is stripped down to nothing, fading away.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the fragility of identity.
Themes
mortality
identity
impermanence
Mood
somber
reflective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- grief
- artistic description
- philosophical reflection
- literary analysis
Key Concepts
existentialism
nihilism
Questions to Reflect On
- What does this disassembly symbolize?
- How does it affect our view of self?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may overemphasize decay, ignoring resilience.
![“...under no circumstances would he [Humbert Humbert] have interfered with the innocence of a child, if there was the least risk of a row.” quote by Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0f0/vladimir-nabokov-198_children_under-no-circumstances-would-he-humbert_16228.jpg)
