«La riserva aurea della nostra letteratura». Puškin e l'uomo russo cosmopolita ne «Il dono» di Nabokov

Nowadays, the intertextual study of Nabokov’s works engages many scholars. Specifically, the connection of his work with Puškin’s literary production holds a place of excellence. The considerable impact of the 19th-century poet can be seen in both Nabokov’s prose and poetry. Nabokov recognises such an empathic note in Puškin, which allows him to identify in the poet’s works the authentic feelings experienced by a whole generation of exiles. Among the key elements, which create a strong bond between Puškin and Nabokov, an important role is played by Vladimir Dmitrievič Nabokov, the writer’s father, considered by Nabokov himself as the clearest representation of the 19th-century poet. Such a motif finds its development in the novel The Gift, where the interpenetration between Fëdor’s father, a famous explorer, and Puškin is intensified and shown by Konstantin Kirillovič Godunov-Čerdyncev, the main character of Nabokov’s novel, who is portrayed as a universal figure and an encyclopaedic man with a strong charisma, typical of Puškin, in whose figure Nabokov recognised the archetype of the universal, cosmopolitan Russian man, who is able to cross the cultural borders of the world he lives in