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...emprisoned in the fortress in expectation of the unknown but near and inexorable date (which he distinctly anticipated as the wrenching, yanking and crunch of a monstrous tooth, his whole body being the inflamed gum, and his head that tooth)... Cincinnatus C. felt a fierce longing for freedom, the most ordinary, physical, physically feasible kind of freedom...

Invitation to a Beheading pp. 72 - 3

A toothache is painful -- when the tooth is pulled there is a moment of intense pain followed by removal of the incessant dull nagging ache. I think this is the logic that those who commit or attempt to commit suicide subscribe to; and I think it is useful to note that much of Invitation to a Beheading is self-loathing, longing for immolation. It seems like a deeply nihilistic book.

At least that is my first reaction to this passage, and others of its ilk in the book. But looking at it again, I notice that Nabokov keeps me guessing -- C. wants "the most ordinary...kind of freedom"; which is certainly release from prison. Does that mean he longs to die? It is not as clear-cut as I thought at first.