C.Kunin [ Jansy asked: Perhaps the
emergence of some such 666 Arabic algarisms in Nabokov might have been
used by him as a hint for Crowley or at his theories about the Occult?
] :To quote the immortal Liza Doolittle, "not bloody likely!"
I'm not sure what an algarism is (a spitting image perhaps?) but this
is a direct reference to The Book of Revelations[... ]Perhaps Shade is
the anti-Revelator?
JM:Of course I know about
The Book of Revelations, it's an
information I deemed unnecessary to bring up because it'd
been mentioned in the initial quote (..."knowing that VN would be
skeptical of the mad-crank excesses stirred by the Book of
Revelation.").
And I did check the word "algarism" to see
if it could be used in English: it is - and it's probably googable,
too.
My query relates to VN's various ploys to
refer to different authors - because I hadn't realized "666"
might indicate Cowley, or his theories, together with all other
more magical implications.
Why would Shade be the anti-Revelator? I
cannot follow your reasoning.
I prefer the hypothesis presented by Frances
Assa ["... it made me wonder whether much has been written about
Judge Goldsworth, esp. since his name promises the mother load[...]
Makes me think that perhaps Kinbote/Botkin? is not a renter at all, but
rather the good Judge himself, gone off."] JG was a bit strange,
even CK thought so, with his alphabetical family and the Easter-egg
notes with instructions spread all over the house, for CK to find and
follow.
He was described, as Shade and Samuel
Johnson as well, to have the looks of a hag, a witch... but the hitch
lies in that he doesn't look at all like CK (Kinbote/Botkin), who
is always careful to stress this fact. The possible twists are
intersting to imagine, though.
We learned about the looks of CK,JS,JG and
the other JG, Jacob Gradus... but nowhere do we learn if Gradus looks
like the unimportant Jack Grey (another JG!), the actual murderer in
CK's story. Goldsworth, indeed.
PS: Besides all the JG initials ( Judge
Goldsworth, Jacob Gradus, Jack Grey) I realized a kind
of Kinbote/Botkin play with initials.
John Shade and Samuel Johnson are JS and
SJ. I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but if so... here
it comes as a curious reminder.
PPS
Besides John Shade's JS and Samuel Johnson's
SJ, there is also another JS, namely, Jonathan Swift - whose Vanessa
and Esther, scatology and other items are present in Pale Fire, the
poem...