Research the events that immediately led to the German invasion of France during World War II, and the plight of those who tried to escape. Compare your findings with the presentation of such events in Nabokov's story.

Like the narrator, Nabokov also left France once the Germans invaded. Consult a biography of Nabokov and explain how he may have used experiences from his own life while creating the plot of the story.

Rewrite the story from the narrator's wife's point-of-view, giving clarity to the events that puzzle the narrator and the reader. Decide whether she is innocent, mentally disturbed, or as licentious as the narrator suspects.

Find another piece of literature whose title alludes to another work and explore how the author in question appropriates the alluded-to work as Nabokov does with Othello. Some possible works are Robert Frost's "Out, Out&mdash...