Razor (short Story) - Use of Detail and Colour

Use of Detail and Colour

Detail and colour have a strong aesthetic effect in Nabokov's work, offering sharp reminders to both reader and character of the joy to be obtained from observation, however fleeting, of the world around them. Before the Soviet arrives, Ivanov observes "the glittering wheels of cars that left ribbon-like imprints on the heat-softened asphalt, resembling the ornate lacework of snakes." This and others are part of a joyous, seemingly childlike vision, in which inanimate objects are often anthropomorphised. The Soviet's reflection in the mirror showed that same "waxen bald spot ... from which the bowler hat had ascended to snag a hat hook". Once again, it is Ivanov who is rewarded with this joyous skill of observation, watching the passersby and cars, and then inside noting the "marble surfaces aglitter with green and gold scent bottles". The Soviet says and sees little in the story, another contrast that emphasises where the author's affections lie.

But this is not quite aestheticism for the sake of it – they are not extraneous things but are observations that shape and determine Ivanov's world. The barber notices the glittering wheels of the cars; a few minutes later he notices the Soviet's "minuscule eyes that glittered like the tiny wheels of a watch movement". The repetition of the glittering wheels motif is not a coincidence but reflects, however lightly, Ivanov's chain of thought; just as the wheels have left their impression on the asphalt, so the Soviet snake has left his imprint on Ivanov.