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Re: Nabokov and Comic Art
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Dear Gavriel Shapiro,
Either I didn't express myself clearly, or I should have added a more extensive, and ellucidative, quote from you article. What I wrote in the posting was that: "Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator"and, in "contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures that could be drawn of this character..." I was referring to pages 230/1, in which you discuss the theme "Art versus cruelty" and where you wrote: "Cockerell's impersonation of the protagonist, which could be visualized as in the comic strip:...," allows Nabokov once again to demonstrate "that genuine art cannot resort to cruelty. Cockerell is shown making fun of Pnin at one ot the lowest points in the title character's life...Therefore, even 'a prominent Anglo-Russian writer,' in whom Nabokov depicted his own travestied and superficial self, feels that Cockerells heartless impersonation 'left him with the mental counterpart of a bad taste in the mouth'."
I hope that your point (about genuine art not resorting to cruelty) is now stated clearly. Please excuse me for not having added a quote to avoid this misunderstanding.
Best regards,
Jansy Mello
----- Original Message -----
From: NABOKV-L
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 8:13 PM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Nabokov and Comic Art
Dear Jansy,
In my chapter "Nabokov and Comic Art," to which you refer here, I do NOT suggest that the caricatures in Pnin are cruel. This is a complete misrepresentation of my argument. In fact, I suggest just the opposite.
To quote a portion from my chapter's conclusion: "Nabokov's attitude toward comic art does not differ from his view of art in general. Being raised in the family of highly humanistic principles, which were inculcated in him from his very childhood, Nabokov has shown throughout his literary legacy that art, including its comic aspect with all its humor and satire, should always be compassionate and ennobling, but never insensitive, let alone cruel, toward a fellow man."
Sincerely,
Gavriel Shapiro
________________________________________
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf Of Jansy [jansy@AETERN.US]
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 10:44 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] [NABOKOV-L] Bunnies and Nabokov Cartoons
In "Bugs Bunny, Postmodernism, Sadism, Nabokov, Characterization--Duck Amuck" we read:
"In Duck Amuck (created in 1953), Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator. In the course of the film the animator messes with and changes the scenery, interchanges props, replaces the soundtrack, mutes Daffy, and even erases and physically alters Daffy himself. ..Daffy keeps trying to live--and entertain--but he can't maintain any constancy or control of his surroundings, or even his body. The cartoon reminded me of Nabokov's approach to characterization--the way he kept his character under his, or rather God's, thumb. Torture them. Make them uncomfortable. Give them no joy. No freedom. Daffy kept attempting to liberate himself--to be a naturalistic, realistic character, in short, to serve the expectations of the audience--but he was ruthlessly denied such a life." Cf.litmatters.blogspot.com/.../bugs-bunny-postmodernism-sadism-nabakov.html - In contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures tha!
t could be drawn of this character. He illustrates some pages with adds from the New Yorker and a set of cartoons.
"Nabokov and the Comic" is referenced at: Nabokov at the limits: redrawing critical boundaries by Lisa Zunshine - 1999 -books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0815328958... More can be found at:Nabokov at Cornell Gavriel Shapiro - 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0801439094...
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Either I didn't express myself clearly, or I should have added a more extensive, and ellucidative, quote from you article. What I wrote in the posting was that: "Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator"and, in "contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures that could be drawn of this character..." I was referring to pages 230/1, in which you discuss the theme "Art versus cruelty" and where you wrote: "Cockerell's impersonation of the protagonist, which could be visualized as in the comic strip:...," allows Nabokov once again to demonstrate "that genuine art cannot resort to cruelty. Cockerell is shown making fun of Pnin at one ot the lowest points in the title character's life...Therefore, even 'a prominent Anglo-Russian writer,' in whom Nabokov depicted his own travestied and superficial self, feels that Cockerells heartless impersonation 'left him with the mental counterpart of a bad taste in the mouth'."
I hope that your point (about genuine art not resorting to cruelty) is now stated clearly. Please excuse me for not having added a quote to avoid this misunderstanding.
Best regards,
Jansy Mello
----- Original Message -----
From: NABOKV-L
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 8:13 PM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Nabokov and Comic Art
Dear Jansy,
In my chapter "Nabokov and Comic Art," to which you refer here, I do NOT suggest that the caricatures in Pnin are cruel. This is a complete misrepresentation of my argument. In fact, I suggest just the opposite.
To quote a portion from my chapter's conclusion: "Nabokov's attitude toward comic art does not differ from his view of art in general. Being raised in the family of highly humanistic principles, which were inculcated in him from his very childhood, Nabokov has shown throughout his literary legacy that art, including its comic aspect with all its humor and satire, should always be compassionate and ennobling, but never insensitive, let alone cruel, toward a fellow man."
Sincerely,
Gavriel Shapiro
________________________________________
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf Of Jansy [jansy@AETERN.US]
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 10:44 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] [NABOKOV-L] Bunnies and Nabokov Cartoons
In "Bugs Bunny, Postmodernism, Sadism, Nabokov, Characterization--Duck Amuck" we read:
"In Duck Amuck (created in 1953), Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator. In the course of the film the animator messes with and changes the scenery, interchanges props, replaces the soundtrack, mutes Daffy, and even erases and physically alters Daffy himself. ..Daffy keeps trying to live--and entertain--but he can't maintain any constancy or control of his surroundings, or even his body. The cartoon reminded me of Nabokov's approach to characterization--the way he kept his character under his, or rather God's, thumb. Torture them. Make them uncomfortable. Give them no joy. No freedom. Daffy kept attempting to liberate himself--to be a naturalistic, realistic character, in short, to serve the expectations of the audience--but he was ruthlessly denied such a life." Cf.litmatters.blogspot.com/.../bugs-bunny-postmodernism-sadism-nabakov.html - In contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures tha!
t could be drawn of this character. He illustrates some pages with adds from the New Yorker and a set of cartoons.
"Nabokov and the Comic" is referenced at: Nabokov at the limits: redrawing critical boundaries by Lisa Zunshine - 1999 -books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0815328958... More can be found at:Nabokov at Cornell Gavriel Shapiro - 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0801439094...
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/