What are the motifs in The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov?

Failure of love is a recurring idea. While there are many relationships depicted in The Defense, there are few that one might characterize as warm or loving. As a child, Luzhin is, at best, indifferent toward his parents, typically regarding them with scorn. The father's perspective of his son is eclipsed by unmet expectations. The mother, meanwhile, seems to reach out to Luzhin only when she herself feels neglected. Once Luzhin discovers chess, it is as though he has no use for his mother and father. He becomes a stranger to his mother. He abandons his father.