Subject
LOLITa's dogs: collie/setter?
Date
Body
EDITOR's NOTE. Some days ago John Rea raised a question about the
switch of the "death dog" in LOLITA from a setter in the novel--to a
a collie in VN's 1974 screenplay-book. (See the the Rea posting at
bottom.) Dieter Zimmer, who has just
published the full text of VN's screenplay -including many new and variant
scenes--now provides further information.
I would further add that in the name of high scholarship, NABOKV-L
has checked VN's Russian LOLITA text where the English "setter" is
translated into Russian as "setter" [sic!]. As an aside, I would note that
Russian has had to forego the latent pun of the English in which the death
dog is several times referred to "the Junk setter" and/or "the Junk dog"
-- a reference to the profession of the dog's late owner.
The implicit "junk yard dog" pun becomes in the Russian a rather
mundane "isterichnyi setter byvshevego star'evshchika," i.e., the
hysterical setter of the deceased junk dealer. The phrase "meaner than a
junk yard dog" was proverbial in my youth and more recently immortalized
in Bob Croce's song of that title.
--------------------
ZIMMER RESPONSE: : "Dieter E. Zimmer" <DEZimmer@compuserve.com>
Concerning the change from "setter" in "Lolita" to "collie" in Nabokov's
Lolita screenplay: In the novel, it is mentioned once that the dog that is
to be the cause of Charlotte's death is a setter; there is no collie in the
whole novel. In all the material Nabokov wrote for Kubrick's film, there is
not a single setter, while the fatal dog is always a collie, identified as
such seven times, in all the versions.
I believe it was a deliberate substitute, and I don't believe it had any
symbolical or philosophical reason. An expert in the character of canine
races might know the answer.
Dieter E. Zimmer, Hamburg, Germany
------------------------------
ORIGINAL QUERY: From: John Rea <jarea@uky.campus.mci.net>
VN carefully introduces us early (at the time of his first arrival at
the Haze house) to the dog that will later be the indirect cause of
Charlotte's death -- my creative writing professor advised us that one
should always do this sort of thing. After Charlotte's death, at the
accident scene the dog is still there, identified now as a "setter"
Strangely, in the filmscript, this dog, also introduced at H's
arrival, has become a "collie". I cannot imaging VM making this change
of detail accidentally, nor without a purpose. Here my own devious,
linguist's, mind recalls that the pronunciation of that dog is /kali/:
and a handy reference book tells me that "members of the <thug> sect
worshipped the goddess Kali <a goddess of death, inter al. jr> and
committed ... murders in sacrifice to her".
Other explanations invited. (One is permitted on the internet
musings one might hesitate to make in print! "On the internet no one
knows you're a dog.")
John Rea
The number you have reached is imaginary.
Please divide by i and dial again.
--------------------------------
EDITOR's NOTE. I assume VN's script is
the one referred to? Perhaps, the collie is VN's covert tribute to
Hollywood's "Lassie." More seriously, Nabokov's film script existed in
many variants and alternate scenes-- from which he assembled the book
version. Dieter Zimmer has just published (in his marvellous Rowohlt VN
edition) all of VN's script. The answer to Col. Rea's question may lie
therein. Did VN just goof or is there indeed something going on?
-------------------
switch of the "death dog" in LOLITA from a setter in the novel--to a
a collie in VN's 1974 screenplay-book. (See the the Rea posting at
bottom.) Dieter Zimmer, who has just
published the full text of VN's screenplay -including many new and variant
scenes--now provides further information.
I would further add that in the name of high scholarship, NABOKV-L
has checked VN's Russian LOLITA text where the English "setter" is
translated into Russian as "setter" [sic!]. As an aside, I would note that
Russian has had to forego the latent pun of the English in which the death
dog is several times referred to "the Junk setter" and/or "the Junk dog"
-- a reference to the profession of the dog's late owner.
The implicit "junk yard dog" pun becomes in the Russian a rather
mundane "isterichnyi setter byvshevego star'evshchika," i.e., the
hysterical setter of the deceased junk dealer. The phrase "meaner than a
junk yard dog" was proverbial in my youth and more recently immortalized
in Bob Croce's song of that title.
--------------------
ZIMMER RESPONSE: : "Dieter E. Zimmer" <DEZimmer@compuserve.com>
Concerning the change from "setter" in "Lolita" to "collie" in Nabokov's
Lolita screenplay: In the novel, it is mentioned once that the dog that is
to be the cause of Charlotte's death is a setter; there is no collie in the
whole novel. In all the material Nabokov wrote for Kubrick's film, there is
not a single setter, while the fatal dog is always a collie, identified as
such seven times, in all the versions.
I believe it was a deliberate substitute, and I don't believe it had any
symbolical or philosophical reason. An expert in the character of canine
races might know the answer.
Dieter E. Zimmer, Hamburg, Germany
------------------------------
ORIGINAL QUERY: From: John Rea <jarea@uky.campus.mci.net>
VN carefully introduces us early (at the time of his first arrival at
the Haze house) to the dog that will later be the indirect cause of
Charlotte's death -- my creative writing professor advised us that one
should always do this sort of thing. After Charlotte's death, at the
accident scene the dog is still there, identified now as a "setter"
Strangely, in the filmscript, this dog, also introduced at H's
arrival, has become a "collie". I cannot imaging VM making this change
of detail accidentally, nor without a purpose. Here my own devious,
linguist's, mind recalls that the pronunciation of that dog is /kali/:
and a handy reference book tells me that "members of the <thug> sect
worshipped the goddess Kali <a goddess of death, inter al. jr> and
committed ... murders in sacrifice to her".
Other explanations invited. (One is permitted on the internet
musings one might hesitate to make in print! "On the internet no one
knows you're a dog.")
John Rea
The number you have reached is imaginary.
Please divide by i and dial again.
--------------------------------
EDITOR's NOTE. I assume VN's script is
the one referred to? Perhaps, the collie is VN's covert tribute to
Hollywood's "Lassie." More seriously, Nabokov's film script existed in
many variants and alternate scenes-- from which he assembled the book
version. Dieter Zimmer has just published (in his marvellous Rowohlt VN
edition) all of VN's script. The answer to Col. Rea's question may lie
therein. Did VN just goof or is there indeed something going on?
-------------------