the first one who explicitly wrote that pedophilia and incest were among the last taboos in western society was the French philosopher Denis de Rougemont in his essay on 'Lolita' that greatly influenced its reception in many countries. The quote goes: "Si l'amour des _nymphets_ n'était pas, de nos jours, l'un des derniers tabous sexuels qui tiennent encore (avec l'inceste), il n'y aurait ni passion ni roman véritables, au sens 'tristanien' de ces termes." (p.17 in Denis de Rougemont: "Nouvelles métamorphoses des Tristan", Paris: "Preuves, 96, février 1959, pp.14-27).

De Rougemont's essay was presaged by Lionel Trilling's equally influential review in 'Encounter', October 1958. Quote: "Within the range of possible heterosexual conduct, this is one of the few prohibitions which still seem to us to be confirmed by nature itself" (in "Nabokov: The Critical Heritage", ed. Norman Page, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982, pp.92-102).

In another direction, I would like to mention that the Pivot tv interview isn't the only one where a recording has survived. Over the decades, I have collected 10 of them, all in English except for the Pivot one, plus the majority of English, Russian, German tv documentaries where relatives, friends, colleagues remember VN. In some cases, it may be the only copy that survives. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a library or an archive sufficiently interested in the tapes to cover the cost of making DVD copies and shipping them. So unless one turns up after all, they will eventually all be lost. A transcript of the Pivot interview, in German, is in the sequel volume to 'Strong Opinions', 'Eigensinnige Ansichten', ed. Dieter E. Zimmer, Reinbek: Rowohlt, 2004.

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