----- Original Message -----

From: D. Barton Johnson

To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU

Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 11:58 AM

Subject: Fw: Fw: further comment on precursors (Spanish, German, Austrian,American & Russian)

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Andrew Brown

To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum

Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 8:28 AM

Subject: Re: Fw: further comment on precursors (Spanish, German, Austrian,American & Russian)

Isn't it clear in the book that both Lolita, and her "Spanish" name are actually the fruits of the Haze's honeymoon in Mexico. The Haze household to which HH first comes looking for a room is decorated with other cheap sourvenirs of the Mexico interlude. Far from having anything aristocratic about her, Lo, or Lola, or Lolita, or Dolores, is just an American kid whose only seeming exoticism comes from her mother's sense of whimsy. Rather than draw on literature for a "precursor" to Lolita, Nabokov saw thousands of American girls all across the country who needed only his genius to evolve into what he required of them.

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: D. Barton Johnson

To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU

Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 1:42 PM

Subject: Fw: further comment on precursors (Spanish, German, Austrian,American & Russian)

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Carolyn Kunin

To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum

Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 9:32 AM

Subject: further comment on precursors (Spanish, German, Austrian,American & Russian)

To the List,

It's very heartening to see the discussion turn in a more positive direction. The ability of life and art to mirror each other in devious ways was one of our author's major themes.

Alexey's "Russian tragedy" sent me googling to see if Dreiser had in fact used it. But no, there is a perfectly American source for the novel.* But VN may certainly have known of the "false" Russian source.

At this point in the discussion it seems to me that the most interesting question raised by Michael Maar's discovery is who did Nabokov have in mind for Lolita's precursor? She is Spanish, but she is dark-haired while von Lichberg's Lolita is golden-haired. The precursor is the daughter of a large-jawed (did I get that right?) nobleman. I doubt very much that VN had von Lichberg in mind. I find it within the realm of the possible that VN had read the German Lolita, but I doubt that he would have known anything of its author, and how would he know that he was an aristocrat? And why large-jawed? In the German story, of course, Lolita's father is a poor man and we are told nothing of his jaws.

So who is this large-jawed Spanish nobleman? I wonder if VN doesn't have in mind one of the portraits of the Spanish Hapsburgs? Is there one with a dark-haired daughter?

Carolyn

*An American Tragedy was based on the infamous Chester Gillette case. Chester abandoned his missionary parents and wandered, working anywhere he could, until he met Grace Brown. They had an affair. When she became pregnant, she moved into her parents' house. After she begged him to marry her, he took her on a "honeymoon" to the Adirondacks, where he planned to murder her. He was caught before he began; he left her trunk and hat -- valuable evidence in public places. After registering under an obvious alias, they went boating, and he drowned her. He fled and stayed at the Arrowhead Hotel [my italics, ck] until his arrest three days later. During his trial, Chester said his girlfriend had committed suicide to escape public humiliation. The DA proved that he hit her with a tennis racket (which numerous people saw him carry). Chester was found guilty of first degree murder and electrocuted (newpisgah.keene.edu 1). Gillette's trial and An American Tragedy have surprising similarities. Chester's attorneys, girls, rich uncle, and settings were identical to Clyde's, albeit with minor name changes (www.albany.edu 1). Both Clyde and Chester had poor parents, fell in love with a garment-factory employees and a good-looking upper-class girls, botched their girlfriends' drownings, and were electrocuted. So, while Dreiser's theme was not original, his flair for using details to create involving, vivid novels is unparalleled.