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Re: darker thoughts on Disa in PF
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Dieter Zimmer writes:
>>> Kinbote may have been oblivious to this derivation [the Disa mythology], but
>>> Nabokov certainly was not
Am I alone in my puzzlement? Is this some accepted meta-level of
meta-narrative analysis where the author/creator, VN, deliberately sets out
to confuse the reader about which of VN¹s allusions are known or unknown to
his creature-characters? This added layer on top of teasing the reader with
more direct allusions (searchable by the patient-curious) and, to borrow
from a current idiom, possible identity-thefts! At least with the latter, we
have His Master¹s Voice speaking outside the novel (and oft-cited and taken
seriously by leading PF-scholars who grace our list!):
Pale Fire "is full of plums that I keep hoping somebody will find. For
instance, the nasty commentator is not an ex-King of Zembla nor is he
professor Kinbote. He is professor Botkin, or Botkine, a Russian and a
madman.²
All the Tom Thumbs are thereby encouraged, although it does seem to set
limits on some of the wilder character-identity interpretations. On the
other hand, knowing that the commentator is VN-certified mad does open the
door to creative reader fancies. Long may we plum- and cherry-pick.
PS: Let¹s not forget VN¹s reaction to Mary McCarthy¹s dazzling
allusion-mining (e.g., the Penguin edition preface). VN welcomed them all,
including the ones he had not intended.
Stan Kelly-Bootle
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>>> Kinbote may have been oblivious to this derivation [the Disa mythology], but
>>> Nabokov certainly was not
Am I alone in my puzzlement? Is this some accepted meta-level of
meta-narrative analysis where the author/creator, VN, deliberately sets out
to confuse the reader about which of VN¹s allusions are known or unknown to
his creature-characters? This added layer on top of teasing the reader with
more direct allusions (searchable by the patient-curious) and, to borrow
from a current idiom, possible identity-thefts! At least with the latter, we
have His Master¹s Voice speaking outside the novel (and oft-cited and taken
seriously by leading PF-scholars who grace our list!):
Pale Fire "is full of plums that I keep hoping somebody will find. For
instance, the nasty commentator is not an ex-King of Zembla nor is he
professor Kinbote. He is professor Botkin, or Botkine, a Russian and a
madman.²
All the Tom Thumbs are thereby encouraged, although it does seem to set
limits on some of the wilder character-identity interpretations. On the
other hand, knowing that the commentator is VN-certified mad does open the
door to creative reader fancies. Long may we plum- and cherry-pick.
PS: Let¹s not forget VN¹s reaction to Mary McCarthy¹s dazzling
allusion-mining (e.g., the Penguin edition preface). VN welcomed them all,
including the ones he had not intended.
Stan Kelly-Bootle
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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