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Re: VN vs. Freud (fwd) -Reply (fwd)
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From: Susan Sweeney <sweeney@HOLYCROSS.EDU>
Sometimes I think that Nabokov's readers are overly eager to
demonstrate their allegiance to VN by joining in his attacks on Freud. At
any rate, it seems more useful to try to figure out why VN concerned
himself with Freud at all. (And, of course, why so vehemently?)
I like Brian Walter's idea that VN felt that his own childhood was
endangered by Freud's theories. I believe that VN also considered Freud
a rival, in a sense, since he too speculated about the workings of
memory and imagination. Indeed, there are surprising similarities
between Freud's and Nabokov's theories of memory. I say as much in
an essay on Nabokov's story "Scenes from the Life of a Double Monster"
which appeared in Barabtarlo and Nicol's volume on his short fiction, A
SMALL ALPINE FORM.
In addition to Jennifer Shute's pioneering essay, anyone interested in this
topic should look at Geoffrey Green's NABOKOV AND FREUD.
Incidentally, Phyllis Roth chaired a Nabokov Society session with a similar
title (at which I presented my very first MLA paper) at the annual MLA
convention about a dozen years ago.
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Associate Professor of English
Holy Cross College
Worcester, MA 01610
Telephone (508) 793-2690
Sometimes I think that Nabokov's readers are overly eager to
demonstrate their allegiance to VN by joining in his attacks on Freud. At
any rate, it seems more useful to try to figure out why VN concerned
himself with Freud at all. (And, of course, why so vehemently?)
I like Brian Walter's idea that VN felt that his own childhood was
endangered by Freud's theories. I believe that VN also considered Freud
a rival, in a sense, since he too speculated about the workings of
memory and imagination. Indeed, there are surprising similarities
between Freud's and Nabokov's theories of memory. I say as much in
an essay on Nabokov's story "Scenes from the Life of a Double Monster"
which appeared in Barabtarlo and Nicol's volume on his short fiction, A
SMALL ALPINE FORM.
In addition to Jennifer Shute's pioneering essay, anyone interested in this
topic should look at Geoffrey Green's NABOKOV AND FREUD.
Incidentally, Phyllis Roth chaired a Nabokov Society session with a similar
title (at which I presented my very first MLA paper) at the annual MLA
convention about a dozen years ago.
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Associate Professor of English
Holy Cross College
Worcester, MA 01610
Telephone (508) 793-2690