MR (to J.A's: Here we have a novel about a man who writes a poem about looking
for a way out of life, submerged in the notes of a crazy narrator who wants to
see in a poem that has nothing whatsoever to do with him minute reflections of
his own concerns [...] but an "answer" always eludes us, even whether or
not Zembla is "real" or not]: ... To say that "the point" is
that there is no final "answer" is itself a kind of exclusive interpretation, a
declaration that this conclusion is, in fact, the answer.My concern with this
notion is that it tends to shut down all further attempts to understand the
narrative of the novel. [...] The dangeris that we will lose attempts like
Brian Boyd's.[...] Even if, in the end, I don't find a new historicist
reading...I probably have learned something about the book that I didn't
know before. All this is a way of saying that I hope we can tolerate, and even
relish,the enthusiasm and engagement that goes into those theories that, in the
end, we may not prefer.
JM:I got the feeling that MR is
chiding JA, after reaching a conclusion that JA was "trying
to shut down all further attempts to understand the narrative of the
novel." or "couldn't tolerate, and even relish" theories with
which he was in disagreement. I'd like to avoid the rigmarole
of "taking sides", at this point. So, I'll proceed to other issues related
to the theme.
Matt seems to have isolated "the narrative
of the novel" from other literary approaches as if it were possible to
critically proceed without their "ghosts" ( like the
"didymus": structure-content, significance-meaning , style and
...whatever.) He also returns to the name of only one (
B.Boyd) among the multipliticy of other authors who equally
poured their visions, culture, "enthusiasm and
engagement" into studying "Pale Fire.", thereby electing him
as a sole authority over the "narrative of the novel" Pale Fire. As I see
it this is also a way to "shut down" further debates or to twisted them to
fit them in an excessively individualist level. Btw, B. Boyd's books are a
must, no one doubts that.