We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

What’s Up With the Title?

First, a note. The English title of this story is "A Russian Beauty," but the Russian title is a little different. It's just "A Beauty" ("Krasavitsa" in Russian). Since this is what Nabokov originally intended to title the story, we'll go with that.

"A Beauty" is a pretty generic title, isn't it? It's not even a sleeping beauty, or the most beautiful woman of all. It's just a beauty. But we think this is the idea: the title is meant to be generic. Olga has a generic Russian name, she seems like a generic Russian girl, and she shares a generic Russian émigré story. She's not special, and we don't really know a lot of details about her besides that she's pretty.

So the title is perfect. A simple generic title, for a (seemingly) simple generic story, about a beautiful generic girl. Or, at least until you dig a little deeper.