Invitation to a Beheading is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. Originally serialized from 1935 to 1936 in an émigré magazine, it was published as a complete work soon after, with an English translation eventually being released in 1959.
The story focuses on Cincinnatus C., a male teacher who's sentenced to execution for the crime of gnostical turpitude. As he spends the final three weeks of his life in prison, he's subjected to further humiliations, while trying to stay true to his ideals that separate him from the rest of his society.
This novel provides examples of:
- Alliterative Name: The protagonist is named Cincinnatus C. His (speculative, due to being raised in an orphanage) mother shares this trait, being identified as Cecilia C.
- Butt-Monkey: Cincinnatus is sentenced to the titular beheading for "gnostical turpitude" (the knowledge of depravity, or at least what his society considers depraved), he's told what day his execution will be but never what the current day is until his death is only two days away, his wife visits with their entire family and a new lover already in hand but they don't let him get a single word in before visiting hours are up, his cellmate digs a hole through the wall that just leads to a dining room so they can have a meal with the prison warden, who's now hooked up with the unfaithful wife, and then it turns out the cellmate is actually his executioner...and so forth.
- Emasculated Cuckold: Not only has Cincinnatus' wife Marthe been unfaithful in the past, her first visitation has her already with another man, and she ends up hooking up with both the warden and the jailer as well.
- Gainax Ending: A terrified Cincinnatus lies down on the chopping block, and starts counting backwards as he's about to be beheaded. In his final moments, he rejects the execution and death itself. He then gets up, takes apart his physical body as though he was simply undressing, and his spirit just walks away to join his fellow idealists in "reality".
- Hope Spot: There are a few moments where Cincinnatus is toyed with, such as the escape tunnel that actually just leads to a dining area where he's forced to dine with the warden, who's now hooked up with Marthe.
- Individuality Is Illegal: The crime of "gnostical turpitude", in essence, just means that Cincinnatus has ideals that the rest of his society are against.
- I Reject Your Reality: This is what Cincinnatus does right before his final breath, leading to the Gainax Ending.
- Mind Screw: Some of Cincinnatus' experiences in the prison are completely nonsensical, such as the prison warden deciding to show him a photohoroscope album that chronicles the warden's daughter's future.
- Off with His Head!: As the title indicates, this is the intended result of Cincinnatus' Public Execution. And indeed, at the end of it, his head comes off...because he willingly removes it, alongside his collarbones, his ribcage, and the rest of his body.
- Public Execution: It's what Cincinnatus has been sentenced to, and where the story's final scene takes place.
