Invitation to a Beheading: Analysis of Major Characters
"Invitation to a Beheading" is a novel centered around Cincinnatus C., a schoolteacher imprisoned for his nonconformity in a society that values strict adherence to norms. As he awaits execution for what is ambiguously labeled "gnostical turpitude," Cincinnatus navigates the grim realities of his existence, reflecting on the futility of life and the inevitability of death. The narrative primarily explores his internal struggles, oscillating between dread and a strange anticipation of death, which he perceives as a potential awakening from a nightmarish existence.
Key characters include Pierre, the executioner, who embodies a grotesque version of camaraderie while trivializing the gravity of death, and Rodion, the turnkey, who fails to understand Cincinnatus's horror. The prison director, Rodrig, represents bureaucratic indifference, while Emmie, the director's flirtatious daughter, and Marthe, Cincinnatus's unfaithful wife, symbolize the betrayal and emotional torment he faces. Additionally, Cecilia, a woman claiming to be Cincinnatus's mother, reflects the pervasive self-interest that surrounds him, and Roman, Cincinnatus's attorney, epitomizes the futility and insensitivity of legal processes. Through these characters, the novel delves into themes of isolation, existential dread, and the absurdity of life in a conformist society.
Invitation to a Beheading: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
First published: Priglashenie na kazn', serial, 1935–1936; book, 1938 (English translation, 1959)
Genre: Novel
Locale: The capital of a fictional European country
Plot: Dystopian
Time: The future
Cincinnatus C., a prisoner awaiting execution. This thirty-year-old schoolteacher is a frail, hypersensitive intellectual who lives in an unspecified land resembling Bolshevik Russia where conformity is unquestionable. His “crime” is only vaguely described as “gnostical turpitude”: He is out of step with society; he thinks forbidden thoughts. His main peculiarity is that he can see how the fact of death makes existence pointless. He sees everyone around him enjoying sensual pleasures, like animals, unaware that they are being fattened for slaughter. The novel is mainly the thoughts, fantasies, emotions, and recollections of a man awaiting execution. He both dreads and looks forward to his death. He believes that the soul is immortal and that life is like a bad dream, but he is afraid of awakening from it.
Pierre, the executioner. This fat, jolly, vigorous man is the same age as Cincinnatus and in many respects like a horrible alter ego. Like death itself, he is implacable and inescapable. He forces his friendship on the condemned man and drives him to distraction with his inane conversation and vulgar pranks. At first with the collusion of the jailers, he pretends to be a fellow prisoner so that he can insinuate himself into Cincinnatus' good graces. He is a living embodiment of the protagonist's idea that death is a silly, harmless affair and may actually be a pleasant experience. Eventually, Pierre performs the beheading, but it is described in such a way that it is left ambiguous whether it actually occurred or was only something like waking from a bad dream.
Rodion (ROH-dih-on), a turnkey, a fat, comical figure who, like Pierre, affects a great concern for the condemned man's comfort and peace of mind. He cannot comprehend the horror and loathing that Cincinnatus is experiencing, and he continually admonishes his prisoner to behave better toward others and to enjoy the comforts being provided.
Rodrig Ivanovich (ROD-rihg ee-VAH-noh-vihch), the director of the prison. He is a pompous functionary who wears a toupee and a frock coat. He is very proud of his authority and is concerned about the good name of his institution. Like the others, he thinks that the prisoner should be enjoying his experience.
Emmie, the director's daughter, a cute, frolicsome twelve-year-old nymphet, a prototype of the author's famous Lolita. She is continually slipping into Cincinnatus' cell to flirt with him. She promises to help him escape if he will marry her, but eventually she proves to be part of the conspiracy to play heartless psychological jokes on him.
Marthe, Cincinnatus' faithless wife. She is young, sensual, and phenomenally promiscuous. In fact, she has sexual intercourse with both Rodion and Rodrig on visiting days, as if to torment her husband and show him how indifferent she is to his situation. Her visits make him feel more destitute than ever.
Cecilia C., a middle-aged midwife who claims to be the prisoner's mother. Cincinnatus was reared in an orphanage; he does not know who his father was and is barely acquainted with his mother. He has been so deceived and frustrated by his captors that he no longer trusts anyone. Cecilia, like all the others, is concerned only with her own affairs and has little empathy with her son. She visits him merely out of a sense of duty and because she enjoys playing the role of bereaved mother. She is another aspect of the swinish humanity Cincinnatus hopes to escape through his death.
Roman Vissarionovich (vih-sah-rih-OH-noh-vihch), the condemned man's attorney. A lean, sepulchral individual with a harelip, he is continually visiting the prisoner but is of no assistance whatsoever. He is merely one more of the insensitive functionaries pressing Cincinnatus toward his inevitable execution and imploring him to behave as if their insane world were the epitome of sanity and good order.