-------- Original Message --------
Hello,
I am a relative newcomer to the list, and have so far restricted
myself to enjoying others' observations.
I am writing now to bring up the subject of Iris Acht of Pale Fire.
I
recently wrote a paper for school that included her tangentially, and
I wanted to see if she had been discussed on these forums at all
before. Please pardon me if this is material that has been brought up
in the past.
Iris has been examined as part of the "chess" metaphor, that is
"Acht"=8, the number of squares on one side of a chess board, and the
Iris/purple connection in terms of the red/green color scheme of the
novel.
However, I've not yet run across a discussion of the other German
meaning of "acht." "Acht” is also the imperative form of the verb
“achten” in German, which means “to value” or “consider.” Translated,
“acht” would have a meaning akin to the authoritative command, “Pay
attention!” Given Nabokov’s knowledge of German and penchant for
linguistic games, there can be little doubt that he is telling astute
readers in no uncertain terms to look at this passage, and
specifically Iris Acht, very carefully.
When one does pay some attention to Iris, another subtle allusion
arises. I was quite impressed with Boyd's discussion of the various
women of Kinbote's Zembla as stand ins for, or even apparitions of,
Hazel Shade. The theme of the "woman spurned" crops up again and
again, especially in the context of drowning. His analysis of Iris
Acht, however, seemed rather thin in comparison with some of the other
rich literary references, such as to Hamlet's Ophelia or "The
Lady of
the Lake."
Please advise me if this has been noted before, but it seems to me
that Iris is quite rich with connections to two very specific texts.
If one takes into consideration that Iris Acht is an actor--that her
name, indeed, is a homonym for act-- and specifically a female lead in
a romantic opera-- one can make the jump quite quickly to Pietro
Mascagni's Iris, whose story again replays the trope of the
woman
spurned.
Iris centers on a teenage girl, beloved by her father, who is
kidnapped by a rich young man but rejected when she will not satisfy
his love. Cursed by her father, who believes she fled willingly to a
life of sexual disgrace, Iris throws herself into a murky sewer and
dies wallowing in the muddy water. However, in the final moments of
the play, she transcends death and is transported in her mind into
"the azure, the infinite, the sun, in a kind of apotheosis" in the
words of one contemporary New York Times review. This finale
is quite
meaningful when viewed in the context of Hazel's drowning, subsequent
transcendence and almost divine influence over Shade's 'azure'
reflected world. The coincidence of the reviewers choice of the word
'azure' is likely just that, but amusing none the less.
Even more interesting, however, is this play's connection to another,
more notable opera by Puccini, friend and roommate to Mascagni. I
speak of course of Madama Butterfly, another opera set in
Japan, that
again features the social downfall and eventual suicide of a maiden.
The further connection to Nabokov's beloved butterfly serves to circle
us back around to Hazel's transformation. This combined with the
violet tint of the Iris flower points to the Red Admirable that flits
across Shade's path prior to his murder, and presumably is Hazel's new
form.
Hopefully I was able to offer some tidbits worth consideration, and
again sorry if this has been discussed in detail before.
Best Regards and Happy Hunting
~Clayton Smith