Dressing room Quote by Vladimir Nabokov
““How many were the aquarelles she painted for me; what a revelation it was when she showed me the lilac tree that grows out of mixed blue and red! Sometimes, in our St Petersburg house, from a secret compartment in the wall of her dressing room (and my birth room), she would produce a mass of jewelry for my bedtime amusement. I was very small then, and those flashing tiaras and chokers and rings seemed to me hardly inferior in mystery and enchantment to the illumination in the city during imperial fêtes, when, in the padded stillness of a frosty night, giant monograms, crowns, and other armorial designs, made of coloured electric bulbs - sapphire, emerald, ruby - glowed with a kind of charmed constraint above snow-lined cornices on housefronts along residential streets.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Gift, Vladimir Nabokov, 1938
The passage evokes childhood wonder at artistic creation, comparing painted scenes and jewelry to the magical illumination of a city’s festive lights.
In simple terms: Childhood awe of art and light.
Key Takeaway
Cherish imaginative experiences.
Themes
art
memory
wonder
light
imagination
Mood
dreamy
reflective
Type
literary
descriptive
When to use this quote
- childhood recollection
- art appreciation
- urban festivals
Key Concepts
aesthetic perception
nostalgia
sensory overload
Questions to Reflect On
- What sensory details most trigger your memories?
- How does art shape your perception of place?
A Different Perspective
The nostalgia may idealize the past, overlooking its complexities.
![“...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)
