In the novel "Pnin" by Vladimir Nabokov, the protagonist, Pnin, often visits The Egg and We, a newly opened restaurant that has struggled to find success. His frequenting of this place is driven by a sense of compassion for its plight. The establishment reflects Pnin's own experiences and the challenges he faces in his life, allowing him to connect with the theme of failure on a personal level. This visit after an early dinner at The Egg and We highlights Pnin's sensitivity and underlying empathetic nature, as he chooses to support those who are struggling. The restaurant serves as a backdrop for exploring his character's complex feelings of isolation and belonging within an environment he finds both familiar and alien.

{...} after an early dinner at The Egg and We, a recently inaugurated and not very successful little restaurant which Pnin frequented from sheer sympathy with failure {...}