مهسا هاشمی

This research conducts a nuanced analysis of power dynamics in Nabokov's postmodern novel Pale Fire through the lens of Marxist theory. Analyzing the novel's historical context and sociopolitical milieu, the study aims to elucidate how the text provides a subtle critique of capitalist and imperialist systems through characterization of ideological conflicts and experimentation with fragmented narrative form. Employing concepts from Marxist classics including Gramsci, Benjamin, and Jameson, the analysis examines key concepts such as Class Struggle, Hegemony and Ideology. Close reading exposes characters embodying ruling and working class positions engaged in ongoing struggles for influence and meaning-making. Additionally, it is suggested that Pale Fire's fragmentary narrative undermines traditional linear storytelling used to reinforce authoritative versions of history. Its inclusion of multiple discordant perspectives disrupts singular interpretive control and coherent completeness. This challenge to formal norms of storytelling mirrors Marxist critiques of how established power relations are questioned through reimagining socio-political frameworks, indicating how Pale Fire’s fractured narrative form mirror fraught conditions of disjointed cultural logics and fragmentation under late capitalism. As such, the study proffers a new, critical reading of Nabokov's interrogation of deeply ingrained power structures both reflected in and challenged through the novel's reimagining of socio-political frameworks. Unpacking Pale Fire through a Marxist lens sheds new light on Nabokov's commentary on his historical moment and offers intriguing methods for teaching contemporary fiction through adopting an interactive discourse, opening avenues for understanding literature's role in critiquing deep-rooted ideological constructs and uneven allocations of capital that influenced the postwar era.