Exilic Trauma in Nabokov’s A Matter of Chance: A New Historicist Reading Jiaxin Zhou

The study employs New Historicism to analyze the dialectical relationship between chance and historical inevitability in Nabokov’s short story A Matter of Chance. By examining how the text is embedded in its historical context and actively participates in the construction of historical meaning, the study reveals how spatial metaphors, characterization, and narrative strategies embody both “historicity of texts” and “textuality of history”. The findings demonstrate that A Matter of Chance is not only a product of historical violence but also a literary practice that actively shapes historical understanding, reflecting the powerlessness and struggle of exiles within the tide of history.