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Re: SS to AS on grafs and counts
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Very nice, the mirroring of Beauchamp and Campbell, in PF, MR. I had just been confused with another kind of split, between (Du)champ and (Beau)marchais.
Reading KQK attentively, as an informative source about VN's wordplays, I discovered that many instances of "doubling" and "Doppelgänger" were representative of a misapprehension as when he places two widely different people close together to create a duplicity, something VN will later exploit in "Despair". In that sense, I now keep an open mind when I come across mirror-doubles, because it might be indicating, and stressing, a "farse".
In KQK the first example that comes to my mind is when snobish Martha places an old painting of some illustrious unknown close to a photograph of a real ancestor to be able to vaguely mention, in an ample gesture, "this is my grandfather" ( or some other ancestor) to make the visitor imagine she is referring to the painting. There are at least two others.
Quite irresistible debate on accidental "logographs". Mathematicians most probably prefer a Graph to Count, instead of an Earl. I must always think twice when the name "Herzog" is used by Nabokov himself.
In KQK VN was much less inspired when applying the German: a swimmer or swimming teacher becomes a Mr. Schwimmer, a cardiologist is Dr. Herzt. Problems with the water from an open shower come close to Mr.Wasserschluss, a farcical woman is Mrs. Farshin...
I sometimes suspect that the character's name, Kurt Dreyer, might indicate the number three for the love triangle ( Drei=Three), but VN is frequently more subtle than that...
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Reading KQK attentively, as an informative source about VN's wordplays, I discovered that many instances of "doubling" and "Doppelgänger" were representative of a misapprehension as when he places two widely different people close together to create a duplicity, something VN will later exploit in "Despair". In that sense, I now keep an open mind when I come across mirror-doubles, because it might be indicating, and stressing, a "farse".
In KQK the first example that comes to my mind is when snobish Martha places an old painting of some illustrious unknown close to a photograph of a real ancestor to be able to vaguely mention, in an ample gesture, "this is my grandfather" ( or some other ancestor) to make the visitor imagine she is referring to the painting. There are at least two others.
Quite irresistible debate on accidental "logographs". Mathematicians most probably prefer a Graph to Count, instead of an Earl. I must always think twice when the name "Herzog" is used by Nabokov himself.
In KQK VN was much less inspired when applying the German: a swimmer or swimming teacher becomes a Mr. Schwimmer, a cardiologist is Dr. Herzt. Problems with the water from an open shower come close to Mr.Wasserschluss, a farcical woman is Mrs. Farshin...
I sometimes suspect that the character's name, Kurt Dreyer, might indicate the number three for the love triangle ( Drei=Three), but VN is frequently more subtle than that...
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm