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Re: QUERY: Some nagging questions on PF
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--- Matthew Roth <MRoth@MESSIAH.EDU> wrote:
> Dear list,
> I have a few nagging questions re: Pale Fire that I no doubt share with
> others. In no particular order:
>
> 1. In Canto Two, Shade describes his "little scissors" (183) as a
> "synthesis of sun and star." I have never understood this image. I've
> looked at my own nail scissors in an attempt to see what Shade was
> seeing,
> alas to no avail. Help!
I share R. S. Gwynn's bafflement. However, the Greek word
"sideros" meant both "iron" and "star". (I could have sworn
somebody pointed that out in this connection on this list, but
I can't find it in the archives.)
> 2. In the same scene, Shade snips off "thin strips" of "scarf-skin" from
> his fingers. Though "scarf-skin" has traditionally referred to the
> entire
> outer layer of the skin, it here refers to the skin around the cuticle,
> I
> think. That said, I have nowhere near enough skin around my cuticles to
> snip with a pair of scissors! I have heard of pushing the skin up, as I
> guess they do during manicures, but is it really normal/possible to have
> enough excess skin there to trim off "strips" with scissors?
No problem. I'm with Giulia Visintin on this. My "strips" aren't
more than 1/4 inch long, but I instantly felt I knew what Shade was
talking about.
I agree with others about Pan.
> 4. In the commentary (C.894), what is the "eerie note that had throbbed
> by" to which the German visitor replies, "Strange, strange"?
My take is that the "eerie note" is a circumstantial discussion
of the king in the presence of the king, though no one but
him knows it. (Kinbote is never sure whether Shade guessed his
secret.) "Eerie" may seem a little strong for this, so I may be
missing something, but then Kinbote's language relating to
himself is rarely restrained.
For those who have studied Nabokov's other texts, which I
haven't--is this sort of use of "note" common? Or does Kinbote
use it more than others because of his un-VN-like appreciation
of music?
I have another question too. Victor quoted Alexander Dolinan
as saying that Pushkin's poem "Rhyme" describes Rhyme as
Echo's "fey" daughter. Which meaning of "fey" is this? Fated
to die? Behaving strangely? Possessing magical powers?
Affected? (All from the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.)
The poem, with an English translation, is available at
<http://books.google.com/books?id=EPuAI-tHo48C&pg=PA186&ots=OPXiR5Vqu0&dq=Pushkin+Rhyme+Echo&sig=HQE0jhnj5hL9tsTOX3Ly0Ie4gYM#PPA186,M1>
or <http://tinyurl.com/39hthy>, by the way.
Jerry Friedman
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> Dear list,
> I have a few nagging questions re: Pale Fire that I no doubt share with
> others. In no particular order:
>
> 1. In Canto Two, Shade describes his "little scissors" (183) as a
> "synthesis of sun and star." I have never understood this image. I've
> looked at my own nail scissors in an attempt to see what Shade was
> seeing,
> alas to no avail. Help!
I share R. S. Gwynn's bafflement. However, the Greek word
"sideros" meant both "iron" and "star". (I could have sworn
somebody pointed that out in this connection on this list, but
I can't find it in the archives.)
> 2. In the same scene, Shade snips off "thin strips" of "scarf-skin" from
> his fingers. Though "scarf-skin" has traditionally referred to the
> entire
> outer layer of the skin, it here refers to the skin around the cuticle,
> I
> think. That said, I have nowhere near enough skin around my cuticles to
> snip with a pair of scissors! I have heard of pushing the skin up, as I
> guess they do during manicures, but is it really normal/possible to have
> enough excess skin there to trim off "strips" with scissors?
No problem. I'm with Giulia Visintin on this. My "strips" aren't
more than 1/4 inch long, but I instantly felt I knew what Shade was
talking about.
I agree with others about Pan.
> 4. In the commentary (C.894), what is the "eerie note that had throbbed
> by" to which the German visitor replies, "Strange, strange"?
My take is that the "eerie note" is a circumstantial discussion
of the king in the presence of the king, though no one but
him knows it. (Kinbote is never sure whether Shade guessed his
secret.) "Eerie" may seem a little strong for this, so I may be
missing something, but then Kinbote's language relating to
himself is rarely restrained.
For those who have studied Nabokov's other texts, which I
haven't--is this sort of use of "note" common? Or does Kinbote
use it more than others because of his un-VN-like appreciation
of music?
I have another question too. Victor quoted Alexander Dolinan
as saying that Pushkin's poem "Rhyme" describes Rhyme as
Echo's "fey" daughter. Which meaning of "fey" is this? Fated
to die? Behaving strangely? Possessing magical powers?
Affected? (All from the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.)
The poem, with an English translation, is available at
<http://books.google.com/books?id=EPuAI-tHo48C&pg=PA186&ots=OPXiR5Vqu0&dq=Pushkin+Rhyme+Echo&sig=HQE0jhnj5hL9tsTOX3Ly0Ie4gYM#PPA186,M1>
or <http://tinyurl.com/39hthy>, by the way.
Jerry Friedman
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm