I found the abstract (see bottom of message) of Claudia Rattazzi
Papka's theory regarding Ada very intriguing, but all my attempts to
locate her came to nought. I finally discovered that two poems that she had
contributed to the Michigan Quarterly Review were published posthumously
in the Spring 2003 issue.
If any one has a copy of this paper or a
suggestion as to how one could be obtained, I would be very
grateful.
CK
Since MLA
and AATSEEL are fast approaching, I am rerunning the Nabokov programs at both
conferences which are taking place in Washington D.C. 27 -30 December, 1996.
Happy Holidays to all and all the very best wishes, GD > >
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> > > #341. FAMILY/ANTIFAMILY IN NABOKOV'S WORK; Sunday, December
29, 1996 > > 8:30-9:45, Lanai 152, Sheraton Washington > >
Arranged by the Vladimir Nabokov Society > > Presiding: Eric Hyman,
Fayettesville State Un. > >
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>
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> 1. "The Mirrored Self:
Incestuous Fictions in Nabokov's _Ada_" > > > >
Claudia
Rattazzi Papka, > >
Columbia
University > >
<crp4@columbia.edu> >
> > > > >
Vladimir Nabokov's _Ada, or Ardor: A
Family Chronicle_ takes > > place around the turn of the century in a
world called Antiterra, a > > planet resembling our own as an mirrored
image does. Reflection is > > indeed one of the central images of
the novel, most simply explicable > > as a metaphor for the incestuous
love of Van and Ada Veen which the > > novel recounts. If one
examines more closely the mirrorings, > > doublings, anagrams, and
allusions which permeate the novel, however, > > it becomes possible to
argue that the incestuous relationship itself > > is but a reflection,
and a metaphor, in turn, for the fiction-writing > > process. >
> The Veen family tree, presented in epic
fashion at the novel's > > beginning, conceals Van and Ada's true,
shared parentage, but reveals > > a suspicious mirroring in the names
and birthdates of their putative > > parents, which has led one critic
to suggest that the two sets of > > parents are simply one set "seen
from different perspectives.."[1] > > That this creation of two from
one may be the central _modus operandi_ > > of the "sibling planet"[2]
casts doubt upon Antiterra's own reality, and > > thus upon the
reliability, and sanity, of the narrator himself, Van > > Veen.
Led by this doubt, I examine the scene of Van and Ada's > >
adolescent consummation and find in its refelections and doublings, > >
including the narrative doubling in which Van and Ada debate "in the >
> margins" about Van's recreation of their shared past, the
foundation > > for another doubt: Does Ada herself really exist,
or is she but a > > creation of Van's mirroring mind? > >
The answers to these questions are found in the
madness that runs > > through the impossible mirrorings of Van's family
tree; in the echoes > > of Van's first summer with Ada in his second,
where several scenes are > > replayed with the crucial substitution of
his real cousin, Lucette, > > for Ada; and in the mirroring Antiterran
parodies of literary works by > > Paul Verlaine and Guy de Maupassant,
as elucidated by the anagrammatic > > alter ego of Nabokov himself in
_Notes to_ Ada _by Vivian Darkbloom_. The > > clues are scattered
throughout Van's memoir, and lead me to conclude > > that the
metatextual analogy Van uses to describe his youthful > >
maniambulation act is indeed an accurate description of the nature of >
> Ada's existence--as _Ada_: > > > >
The essence of the satisfaction belonged
rather to the > > same order as the
one he later derived from self-imposed, > >
extravagantly difficult, seemingly absurd
tasks when V.V. > > sought to
express something, which until expressed had > >
only a twilight existence (or even none at
all--nothing > > but the illusion
of the backward shadow of its immanent > >
impression).[3] > > > >
Van has had a incestuous encounter with his
cousin, Lucette, and > > this transgression has led not only to her
suicide, but also to Van's > > madness. This madness inspires the
rewriting of Van's life, his > > family, and his world through a series
of doublings which create > > Antiterra, Van's antifamily (which
includes his sister and double, > > Ada), and, finally, the novel
itself. > > > >
Notes >
> > > 1. Charles Nicol, "_Ada_ or Disorder," in _Nabokov's
Fifth Arc_, eds. > > J. E. Rivers and C. Nicol
(Austin: U. of Texas Press, 1982), 240. > > > > 2.
Vladimir Nabokov, _Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle_ (New York: >
> McGraw Hill, 1969), 244. > > >
> 3. ibid 196 > >
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>