Interpretation: Reading the Unwritten Vladimir Nabokov's stylistic approach when crafting Signs and Symbols is one dependent on negative space and symbolic context. Nabokov's utilization of symbolically charged details and implied events leave space for interpretation of the text. The compression with which Nabokov expresses all of this in spare prose is his genius. Mathematician John N. Crossley explored the implicit aspects in Signs and Symbols by contrasting literary symbols and mathematic symbols, proposing that "in fiction all symbols must be highly contextualized and can yield various interpretations, versus in mathematics, where symbols are stable and context free" (Crossley). Crossley recognized the "unsolvable" quality in Nabokov’s …show more content…
"Referential mania" is where the patient imagines that everything happening around them is a veiled reference to his personality and existence. In an effort to understand the purpose of incorporating "referential mania" into the short story, readers must discover and interpret key words Nabokov placed in his literary masterpiece. These key words in the passage form a kind of instruction for the reader to "puzzle out" an inherent "system" of the story, to look for a "veiled reference" to the insane characters fate. The central "theme" of the text is to "intercept" and "decode" some "transmitted" message containing "information regarding him," to crack a "cipher" encrypted "in manual alphabet." In addition to identifying these keywords, Nabokov places a heavy emphasis on natural phenomenas and random artifacts but "excludes real people from the conspiracy" (599). "Referential mania" can be seen as a clue in the text that justifies the sons paranoia. It's description is not placed in the text to solve the textual riddle, rather it is used to provide specific clues and meta fictional guidelines that refer to the structure of the text itself. One can interpret that his paranoia lies not in the processes of his thoughts about clouds, mountains, glass surfaces, and coats in store windows, but rather in their misapplication. The link between "referential mania" and material