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VNabst:Stringer-Hye (fwd)
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EDITOR'S NOTE: AS most of you know, MLA & AATSEEL (the Slavic Languages
Assoc.) held their annual conferences in San Diego between Christmas and
New Year. The Nabokov Society presented two panels at MLA and one at
AATSEEL. Additional papers on Nabokov were given at other AATSEEL
sessions. Between the two organizations 14 Nabokov papers were given.
In the next couple of weeks NABOKV-L will present author's abstracts of
their papers along with their E-mail addresses where available. Comments
may be directed either to the authors or to NABOKV-L. Comments to
NABOKV-L should carry the Subject heading: VNabst:[NAME of paper presenter].
DBJ ----------------------------
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NABOKOV'S ADA AND MELVILLE'S PIERRE by Suellen Stringer-Hye
<HSS3728@ACS.TAMU.EDU>, Texas A&M
The interviews in Strong Opinions cover the time period from 1962-1973
when Nabokov was living in Switzerland and working on both _Pale Fire_ and
_Ada_. In several of these interviews Nabokov expresses admiration for
and an intimacy with the writings of Herman Melville. A poem drawn from
the text of _Moby Dick_ makes its way into _Bend Sinister_ and Humbert
Humbert's colleagues set off for Pierre Point in Melville Sound in search
of the North pole. A single reference in _Ada_ to Melville initiates a
process of discovery whereupon it can be determined that Nabokov has woven
structural elements of Melville's _Pierre_ int othe fabric of _Ada_.
Refining the technique of literary reminiscence as defined in _Lectures on
Literature_, Nabokov tangles threads of artful coincidence using
character, theme and language from Pierre in order to align the two books.
_Pierre_ and _Ada_ address similar concerns; writing and reading, the
problems of conscience and consciousness, time and temporality and love.
This paper attempts to illustrate, using a few key examples, the extent to
which a complex series of interrelationships, masquerading as chance
occurences, link the inner structure and deepest meanings of Nabokov's
_Ada_ to Melville's _Pierre_.
Assoc.) held their annual conferences in San Diego between Christmas and
New Year. The Nabokov Society presented two panels at MLA and one at
AATSEEL. Additional papers on Nabokov were given at other AATSEEL
sessions. Between the two organizations 14 Nabokov papers were given.
In the next couple of weeks NABOKV-L will present author's abstracts of
their papers along with their E-mail addresses where available. Comments
may be directed either to the authors or to NABOKV-L. Comments to
NABOKV-L should carry the Subject heading: VNabst:[NAME of paper presenter].
DBJ ----------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
NABOKOV'S ADA AND MELVILLE'S PIERRE by Suellen Stringer-Hye
<HSS3728@ACS.TAMU.EDU>, Texas A&M
The interviews in Strong Opinions cover the time period from 1962-1973
when Nabokov was living in Switzerland and working on both _Pale Fire_ and
_Ada_. In several of these interviews Nabokov expresses admiration for
and an intimacy with the writings of Herman Melville. A poem drawn from
the text of _Moby Dick_ makes its way into _Bend Sinister_ and Humbert
Humbert's colleagues set off for Pierre Point in Melville Sound in search
of the North pole. A single reference in _Ada_ to Melville initiates a
process of discovery whereupon it can be determined that Nabokov has woven
structural elements of Melville's _Pierre_ int othe fabric of _Ada_.
Refining the technique of literary reminiscence as defined in _Lectures on
Literature_, Nabokov tangles threads of artful coincidence using
character, theme and language from Pierre in order to align the two books.
_Pierre_ and _Ada_ address similar concerns; writing and reading, the
problems of conscience and consciousness, time and temporality and love.
This paper attempts to illustrate, using a few key examples, the extent to
which a complex series of interrelationships, masquerading as chance
occurences, link the inner structure and deepest meanings of Nabokov's
_Ada_ to Melville's _Pierre_.