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Re: THOUGHTS: Similar image in Bend Sinister and Nadja
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Rachel: hardly a homage from VN to Breton. I¹m struck more by the
dis-similarity. Breton¹s painter¹s failed attempt to capture every aspect of
a changing scene on a single canvas nevertheless turns out to be ³sad and
beautiful.² In Nabokov¹s scene, we are left with ³clutter ... ruins, junk.²
Whether VN ever read Najda is certainly a question worth pursuing. As long
as one realizes the tricky nature of such investigations. As with Saddam¹s
WMD, ³Absence of proof is not proof of absence!² More important would be
assessing any influences or interactions between Nabokov¹s and Breton¹s
distinct (as it seems to me) views on ³Art, Its Methods and Purpose.² A
quick google indicates much activity in this direction, employing
postmodernist language beyond my immediate comprehension!
Stan Kelly-Bootle
On 02/10/2008 19:41, "Rachel Meibos" <rwelean@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
> An image from the first chapter of Nabokov¹s Bend Sinister and one from a
> footnote at the end of Breton¹s Nadja (1947) bear an unlikely similarity: both
> describe a painter who fails to paint a sunset because the scenery changes
> faster than the painter can paint.
>
> From Nadja (trans. R. Howard): ³shortly before sunset, a curiously scrupulous
> painter struggled with skill and speed on his canvas against the fading light.
> The spot of color corresponding to the sun gradually descended with the sun.
> Finally, nothing remained. The painter suddenly discovered he was far behind:
> he obliterated the red from a wall, painted over one or two last gleams
> lingering on the water. His painting, finished for himself, for me the most
> unfinished thing possible, looked very sad and very beautiful² (148)
>
> From Bend Sinister: ³But it all fades, it fades, she used to sit in a field,
> painting a sunset that would never stay, [] but the sunset had gone,
> leaving only a clutter of the purplish remnants of the day, piled up anyhow
> ruins, junk²
>
> Perhaps this is coincidental - I have no way of knowing if V. Nabokov ever
> read Nadja but perhaps Nabokov was paying a subtle homage to another
> modernist.
>
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dis-similarity. Breton¹s painter¹s failed attempt to capture every aspect of
a changing scene on a single canvas nevertheless turns out to be ³sad and
beautiful.² In Nabokov¹s scene, we are left with ³clutter ... ruins, junk.²
Whether VN ever read Najda is certainly a question worth pursuing. As long
as one realizes the tricky nature of such investigations. As with Saddam¹s
WMD, ³Absence of proof is not proof of absence!² More important would be
assessing any influences or interactions between Nabokov¹s and Breton¹s
distinct (as it seems to me) views on ³Art, Its Methods and Purpose.² A
quick google indicates much activity in this direction, employing
postmodernist language beyond my immediate comprehension!
Stan Kelly-Bootle
On 02/10/2008 19:41, "Rachel Meibos" <rwelean@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
> An image from the first chapter of Nabokov¹s Bend Sinister and one from a
> footnote at the end of Breton¹s Nadja (1947) bear an unlikely similarity: both
> describe a painter who fails to paint a sunset because the scenery changes
> faster than the painter can paint.
>
> From Nadja (trans. R. Howard): ³shortly before sunset, a curiously scrupulous
> painter struggled with skill and speed on his canvas against the fading light.
> The spot of color corresponding to the sun gradually descended with the sun.
> Finally, nothing remained. The painter suddenly discovered he was far behind:
> he obliterated the red from a wall, painted over one or two last gleams
> lingering on the water. His painting, finished for himself, for me the most
> unfinished thing possible, looked very sad and very beautiful² (148)
>
> From Bend Sinister: ³But it all fades, it fades, she used to sit in a field,
> painting a sunset that would never stay, [] but the sunset had gone,
> leaving only a clutter of the purplish remnants of the day, piled up anyhow
> ruins, junk²
>
> Perhaps this is coincidental - I have no way of knowing if V. Nabokov ever
> read Nadja but perhaps Nabokov was paying a subtle homage to another
> modernist.
>
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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
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Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/