Dear Gavriel Shapiro,
Either I didn't express myself clearly, or
I should have added a more extensive, and ellucidative, quote from you article.
What I wrote in the posting was that: "Daffy Duck
is exquisitely tortured by his creator"and, in "contrast, concerning
Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and
the cruel caricatures that could be drawn of this character..."
I was referring
to pages 230/1, in which you discuss the theme "Art versus
cruelty" and where you
wrote: "Cockerell's impersonation of the protagonist, which could be
visualized as in the comic strip:...," allows Nabokov once again
to demonstrate "that genuine art cannot resort to cruelty. Cockerell is
shown making fun of Pnin at one ot the lowest points in the title character's
life...Therefore, even 'a prominent Anglo-Russian writer,' in whom Nabokov
depicted his own travestied and superficial self, feels that Cockerells
heartless impersonation 'left him with the mental counterpart of a bad taste in
the mouth'."
I hope that your point (about genuine art not
resorting to cruelty) is now stated clearly. Please excuse me for not
having added a quote to avoid this misunderstanding.
Best regards,
Jansy Mello
----- Original
Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 8:13
PM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Nabokov and Comic
Art
Dear
Jansy,
In
my chapter "Nabokov and Comic Art," to which you refer here, I do NOT suggest
that the caricatures in Pnin are cruel. This is a complete misrepresentation
of my argument. In fact, I suggest just the opposite.
To quote a
portion from my chapter's conclusion: "Nabokov's attitude toward comic art
does not differ from his view of art in general. Being raised in the family of
highly humanistic principles, which were inculcated in him from his very
childhood, Nabokov has shown throughout his literary legacy that art,
including its comic aspect with all its humor and satire, should always be
compassionate and ennobling, but never insensitive, let alone cruel, toward a
fellow man."
Sincerely,
Gavriel
Shapiro
________________________________________
From: Vladimir Nabokov
Forum [NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf Of Jansy
[jansy@AETERN.US]
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 10:44 PM
To:
NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: [NABOKV-L] [NABOKOV-L] Bunnies and
Nabokov Cartoons
In "Bugs Bunny, Postmodernism, Sadism, Nabokov,
Characterization--Duck Amuck" we read:
"In Duck Amuck (created in 1953),
Daffy Duck is exquisitely tortured by his creator. In the course of the film
the animator messes with and changes the scenery, interchanges props, replaces
the soundtrack, mutes Daffy, and even erases and physically alters Daffy
himself. ..Daffy keeps trying to live--and entertain--but he can't maintain
any constancy or control of his surroundings, or even his body. The cartoon
reminded me of Nabokov's approach to characterization--the way he kept his
character under his, or rather God's, thumb. Torture them. Make them
uncomfortable. Give them no joy. No freedom. Daffy kept attempting to liberate
himself--to be a naturalistic, realistic character, in short, to serve the
expectations of the audience--but he was ruthlessly denied such a life."
Cf.litmatters.blogspot.com/.../bugs-bunny-postmodernism-sadism-nabakov.html
- In contrast, concerning Nabokov's rejection of cruelty, Gavriel
Shapiro writes about "Pnin" and the cruel caricatures tha!
t could be drawn
of this character. He illustrates some pages with adds from the New Yorker and
a set of cartoons.
"Nabokov and the Comic" is referenced at: Nabokov at the
limits: redrawing critical boundaries by Lisa Zunshine - 1999
-books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0815328958... More can be found at:Nabokov at
Cornell Gavriel Shapiro - 2003 - Biography & Autobiography -
books.google.com.br/books?isbn=0801439094...