Subject
Netko/ nonnons/ PF
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Date
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I think that is what happened to Kinbote (Botkin) in PF. In his
delusional
self he searched and found Zembla's reflection in Shade's poem. Alas,
when
mirror image dissipated that ugly thing remained. Belatedly he
recognized
that reflection worked the other way: the art reflected him. Isn't that
when
he killed himself?
In VN's oeuvre art and consciousness convincingly win when challenged by
cruelty (Bent Sinister), tyranny (Invitation to Beheading), banality
(e.g.
Cloud, Castle, Lake), delusions of all sorts and sources (Pale Fire).
Isn't
that most recurring theme of VN's? Other than that, there is no
polyphony
here - all by design, including red herrings and short cirtcuts. MPD
hype is
ours.
The uniqueness of PF is that this counterpoint spilled out from the
novel
into criticism - that is to us.
Here is the full quote:
"Nonnons, absolutely absurd objects, shapeless, mottled,
knobby things, like some kind of fossils -- but ... when you placed one
of
these incomprehensible, monstrous objects so that it was reflected in
the
incomprehensible, monstrous mirror, everything was fine, and the
shapeless
speckledness became in the mirror a wonderful, sensible image; flowers,
a
ship, a person, a landscape."
Note "a person, a landscape". Zembla anyone?
I copied it from chapter 'Artistic reality' of 'O Window in the Dark!
The
Early Career of Vladimir Nabokov' by Michael Fleming
http://www.dutchgirl.com/foxpaws/biographies/O_Window_in_the_Dark!/nabokovbi
o.html to which I just googled and giggled in search of nonnons.
In same source I found curious this quote from Dar (which some of the
more
prolific of us did not read, hmmm):
"Sunlight is good in the degree that it heightens the value of
shade."
Note Pale Fire, Shade and Gradus in one sentence from VN: "The sun's a
thief
...", English "degree" means "gradus" in Russian.
- George Shimanovich
>Nabokov explicitly describes in the "Invitation to the beheading" some
kind
of "puzzles" (I don't know how it is called in the english translation,
in
Russian it was called "netki", "net" means "no") which included a
strange
shape and an equally strange curvy mirror, such that only in this mirror
you
may see a beautiful object instead of the strange thing.
>"Nonnons" See page 135 of the 1st ed. of INVITATION TO A BEHEADING,
where
Cecilia C. describes them.
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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
delusional
self he searched and found Zembla's reflection in Shade's poem. Alas,
when
mirror image dissipated that ugly thing remained. Belatedly he
recognized
that reflection worked the other way: the art reflected him. Isn't that
when
he killed himself?
In VN's oeuvre art and consciousness convincingly win when challenged by
cruelty (Bent Sinister), tyranny (Invitation to Beheading), banality
(e.g.
Cloud, Castle, Lake), delusions of all sorts and sources (Pale Fire).
Isn't
that most recurring theme of VN's? Other than that, there is no
polyphony
here - all by design, including red herrings and short cirtcuts. MPD
hype is
ours.
The uniqueness of PF is that this counterpoint spilled out from the
novel
into criticism - that is to us.
Here is the full quote:
"Nonnons, absolutely absurd objects, shapeless, mottled,
knobby things, like some kind of fossils -- but ... when you placed one
of
these incomprehensible, monstrous objects so that it was reflected in
the
incomprehensible, monstrous mirror, everything was fine, and the
shapeless
speckledness became in the mirror a wonderful, sensible image; flowers,
a
ship, a person, a landscape."
Note "a person, a landscape". Zembla anyone?
I copied it from chapter 'Artistic reality' of 'O Window in the Dark!
The
Early Career of Vladimir Nabokov' by Michael Fleming
http://www.dutchgirl.com/foxpaws/biographies/O_Window_in_the_Dark!/nabokovbi
o.html to which I just googled and giggled in search of nonnons.
In same source I found curious this quote from Dar (which some of the
more
prolific of us did not read, hmmm):
"Sunlight is good in the degree that it heightens the value of
shade."
Note Pale Fire, Shade and Gradus in one sentence from VN: "The sun's a
thief
...", English "degree" means "gradus" in Russian.
- George Shimanovich
>Nabokov explicitly describes in the "Invitation to the beheading" some
kind
of "puzzles" (I don't know how it is called in the english translation,
in
Russian it was called "netki", "net" means "no") which included a
strange
shape and an equally strange curvy mirror, such that only in this mirror
you
may see a beautiful object instead of the strange thing.
>"Nonnons" See page 135 of the 1st ed. of INVITATION TO A BEHEADING,
where
Cecilia C. describes them.
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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