Subject
Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
From
Date
Body
If I´m not mistaken this observation about opened and closed legs was first
made about young Dionysus hidden among the nymphs ( Homer?).
I still think it is worthwhile to check the reference to Huck because
sometimes we remember one information and connect it erroneously to another
that is only similar to it.
Jansy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
Re: the observation about opened and closed legs: it's made by Judith
Loftus, the woman Huck visits disguised as a girl in Ch. XI. After seeing
through his disguise, she tells him two other indicators of his maleness:
the way he threads a needle and the way he throws a bar of lead at a rat.
Meanwhile, you can't use Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn interchangeably. You can't
determine someone's opinion on one novel from the same person's opinion on
another. Huck is a much deeper and more artful novel than Tom, and if the
Nabokovs aired an opinion only on Tom, then it's true that there really is
no comment of theirs anywhere in print about Huck.
>From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
>Reply-To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>Subject: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
>Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 09:06:18 -0800
>
>I think the source can be found in Stacy Schiff's biography Vera. I
don't
>have a copy at hand, but I'm quite sure that's where I have read about
>Vera's dislike of Huck Finn - but what Schiff's source for this was, I
>can't recall.
>
>Ole Nyegaard
>Aarhus University, Denmark
>---------------------------------------------
>EDNOTE. Thanks to Ole Nyegaard's sugestion, I located the passage(s) in
VERA:
>pp. 136, 166, & 200. The Nabokovs had consulted Edmund Wilson for
recommended
>reading for 12-yr-old Dmitri. Wilson suggested Twain's _Tom Sawyer_.
Vera,
>according to Wilson, thought that it was "an immoral book that
teaches bad
>behavior and suggests to little boys the idea of taking an interest in
little
>girls too young." Schiff repeats the material on pp. 166 & 200.
Huck was, of
>course, more of a rapscallion than Tom. As a boy I recall being puzzled
by
>Tom's (or was it Huck's) observation that the way to tell (disguised?)
males
>from females. When an object is tossed toward their laps, men
instinctively
>close their legs; women open them (so as to catch the object in their
dress
>folds).
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU> den 8. marts
2005 kl.
>01:26 +0000 skrev:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
> > Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 18:04:16 -0500
> > From: "Brown, Andrew"
<Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> >Reply-To: "Brown, Andrew"
<Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> > Subject: RE: Spam: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
> > To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >
> >
> >To Brian Boyd, Care of the VN Forum:
> >
> >
> >It may take me some time to unearth my source for this, but it is
in
> >print. Both
> >VN and Vera disliked the book from when Dmitri was still a child,
and
> >they were
> >paying attention to the literature he might soon be reading. This
may
> >have been
> >when the family first came to the United States, if not earlier.
> >
> >
> >They disapproved of the word used throughout the book to describe
the
> >slave Jim.
> >Clearly, their dislike of this vulgarity was consistent with their
> >disgust with
> >prejudice and bigotry of all kinds. But it seems, or seemed, not to
take
> >into
> >account the fact that the action of Finn takes place in the
slaveholding
> >American South of about 1835. I'll do my best to find the source.
> >
> >
> >Andrew
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> ----------
> >> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B.
Johnson
> >> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >> Sent: Monday, March 7, 2005 4:34 PM
> >> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >> Subject: Spam: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
> >>
> >> Where does VN express this opinion of Huckleberry Finn?
> >>
> >> BB
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
[mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
> >Behalf Of
> >> Donald B. Johnson
> >> Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2005 6:26 a.m.
> >> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >> Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and
petards
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Forwarded message from as-brown@comcast.net -----
> >> Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 19:21:53 -0500
> >> From: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> >> Reply-To: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> >> Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats
and
> >petards
> >> To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >>
> >> Readers of Richard Ellmann's biography of Joyce, as well as
readers of
> >the
> >> now-hard-to-find letters Joyce sent Nora from Dublin in
December of
> >1909 know
> >> that Bloom's predelictions and peccadillos are, basically,
those of
> >Joyce
> >> himself. With respect to the writer of the Lectures on
Literature
> >quoted
> >> below, I demure and suggest instead that in art, which Joyce
and
> >Nabokov both
> >> pursued, in fact, in the modernist tradition formulated by
Wilde and
> >others,
> >> taste and morals mean much less than whether a work is written
well or
> >badly.
> >> Nabokov was a man who could not find it in himself to accept a
work like
> >> Huckleberry Finn because of what he considered its vulgarity.
In this
> >matter
> >my
> >> own views part company with VNs, in spite of my considering
him the
> >greatest
> >> American writer of the 20th century. When it comes to art (and
much
> >else,
> >> actually), you don't have to agree with anybody, not even your
heroes,
> >all of
> >> the time.
> >>
> >> Andrew
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: D. Barton Johnson
> >> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >> Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 4:10 PM
> >> Subject: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and
petards
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello
> >> Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 11:45 AM
> >> Subject: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >>
> >>
> >> Dear List,
> >>
> >> There is an important reference in VN´s lecture on Joyce
which I
> >couldn´t
> >find
> >> yesterday but that I can now add:
> >>
> >> I´m copying from Fredon Bowers edition of Lectures on
Literature,
> >page 287:
> >>
> >> "Another consideration in relation to Bloom: those so
many who have
> >written
> >so
> >> much about "Ulysses" are either very pure men or
very depraved men.
> >They are
> >> inclined to regard Bloom as a very ordinary nature, and
apparently Joyce
> >> himself intended to portray an ordinary person. It is
obvious,
> >however, that
> >> in the sexual department Bloom is, if not on the verge of
insanity, at
> >least a
> >> good clinical example of extreme sexual preoccupation and
perversity
> >with all
> >> kinds of curious complications. His case is strictly
heterosexual, of
> >course -
> >> not homosexual as most of the ladies and gentlemen are in
Proust (...)
> >- but
> >> within the wide limits of Bloom´s love for the opposite sex he
indulges
> >in
> >acts>
> >> and dreams that are definitely subnormal in the zoological,
evolutional
> >sense.
> >> I shall not bore you with a list of his curious desires, but
this I
> >will say:
> >> in Bloom´s mind and in Joyce´s book the theme of sex is
continually
> >mixed and
> >> intertwined with the theme of the latrine. God knows I have
no
> >objection
> >> whatsoever to so-called frankness in novels. On the contrary,
we have
> >too
> >> little of it, and what there is has become in its turn
conventional and
> >trite,
> >> as used by so-called tough writers, the darlings of the book
clubs, the
> >pets
> >of
> >> clubwomen. But I do object to the folowing: Bloom is supposed
to be a
> >rather
> >> orginary citizen. Now it is not true that the mind of an
ordinary
> >citizen
> >> continuously dwells on physiological things. I object to the
> >continuously,
> >not
> >> to the disgusting. All this very special pathological stuff
seems
> >artificial
> >> and unnecessary in this particular context".
> >> ..............................................
> >> There are other comments by VN about Joyce´s and Bloom´s
> >"extraordinariness"
> >> which are as vivid as the one here quoted.
> >> Young Eric´s or any Veen or Zemski (explicit) sexual
fantasy should
> >not be
> >> confused with VN´s own, to the point of "
continuously" permeating his
> >novel
> >> like a bass background.
> >>
> >> VN ( on page 346) writes about Joyce´s parodies :
> >> "We can thus define clichés as bits of dead prose and
of rotting
> >poetry.
> >> However the parody has its interruptions. Now what Joyce does
here is
> >to cause
> >> some of that dead and rotten stuff to reveal here and there
its live
> >source,
> >> its primary freshness (...) Joyce manages to build up
something real -
> >pathos,
> >> pity, compassion - out of the dead formulas which he
parodies".
> >>
> >> I also think that this very real, compassionate and golden
atmosphere
> >is
> >> something VN achieved in ADA, albeit by other means no less
> >"extraordinary".
> >> Paradise regained?
> >> Jansy
> >>
> >> ----- End forwarded message -----
> >>
> >> ----- End forwarded message -----
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> >confidential
> >or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please
refrain
> >from any
> >disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this information.
Please be
> >aware
> >that such actions are prohibited. If you have received this
transmission
> >in
> >error, kindly notify us by calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to
> >helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your cooperation.
> >
> >
> >----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> >
> >To Brian Boyd, Care of the VN Forum:
> >
> >It may take me some time to unearth my source for this, but it is
in
> >print. Both VN and Vera disliked the book from when Dmitri was
still a
> >child, and they were paying attention to the literature he might
soon be
> >reading. This may have been when the family first came to the
United
> >States, if not earlier.
> >
> >They disapproved of the word used throughout the book to describe
the
> >slave Jim. Clearly, their dislike of this vulgarity was consistent
with
> >their disgust with prejudice and bigotry of all kinds. But it
seems, or
> >seemed, not to take into account the fact that the action of Finn
takes
> >place in the slaveholding American South of about 1835. I'll do my
best
> >to find the source.
> >
> >Andrew
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----------
> >From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> >Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >Sent: Monday, March 7, 2005 4:34 PM
> >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >Subject: Spam: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
> >
> >Where does VN express this opinion of Huckleberry Finn?
> >
> >BB
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [[ mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >]mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf Of
> >Donald B. Johnson
> >Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2005 6:26 a.m.
> >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----- Forwarded message from as-brown@comcast.net -----
> > Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 19:21:53 -0500
> > From: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> >Reply-To: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> > Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and
petards
> > To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >
> >Readers of Richard Ellmann's biography of Joyce, as well as
readers of
> >the
> >now-hard-to-find letters Joyce sent Nora from Dublin in December of
1909
> >know
> >that Bloom's predelictions and peccadillos are, basically, those of
Joyce
> >himself. With respect to the writer of the Lectures on Literature
quoted
> >below, I demure and suggest instead that in art, which Joyce and
Nabokov
> >both
> >pursued, in fact, in the modernist tradition formulated by Wilde
and
> >others,
> >taste and morals mean much less than whether a work is written well
or
> >badly.
> >Nabokov was a man who could not find it in himself to accept a work
like
> >Huckleberry Finn because of what he considered its vulgarity. In
this
> >matter my
> >own views part company with VNs, in spite of my considering him
the
> >greatest
> >American writer of the 20th century. When it comes to art (and much
else,
> >actually), you don't have to agree with anybody, not even your
heroes,
> >all of
> >the time.
> >
> >Andrew
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 4:10 PM
> > Subject: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello
> > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 11:45 AM
> > Subject: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear List,
> >
> > There is an important reference in VN´s lecture on Joyce which I
> >couldn´t find
> >yesterday but that I can now add:
> >
> > I´m copying from Fredon Bowers edition of Lectures on Literature,
page
> >287:
> >
> > "Another consideration in relation to Bloom: those so many
who have
> >written so
> >much about "Ulysses" are either very pure men or very
depraved men. They
> >are
> >inclined to regard Bloom as a very ordinary nature, and apparently
Joyce
> >himself intended to portray an ordinary person. It is obvious,
however,
> >that
> >in the sexual department Bloom is, if not on the verge of insanity,
at
> >least a
> >good clinical example of extreme sexual preoccupation and
perversity with
> >all
> >kinds of curious complications. His case is strictly heterosexual,
of
> >course -
> >not homosexual as most of the ladies and gentlemen are in Proust
(...) -
> >but
> >within the wide limits of Bloom´s love for the opposite sex he
indulges
> >in acts
> >and dreams that are definitely subnormal in the zoological,
evolutional
> >sense.
> >I shall not bore you with a list of his curious desires, but this I
will
> >say:
> >in Bloom´s mind and in Joyce´s book the theme of sex is continually
mixed
> >and
> >intertwined with the theme of the latrine. God knows I have no
objection
> >whatsoever to so-called frankness in novels. On the contrary, we
have
> >too
> >little of it, and what there is has become in its turn conventional
and
> >trite,
> >as used by so-called tough writers, the darlings of the book clubs,
the
> >pets of
> >clubwomen. But I do object to the folowing: Bloom is supposed to
be a
> >rather
> >orginary citizen. Now it is not true that the mind of an ordinary
> >citizen
> >continuously dwells on physiological things. I object to the
> >continuously, not
> >to the disgusting. All this very special pathological stuff seems
> >artificial
> >and unnecessary in this particular context".
> > ..............................................
> > There are other comments by VN about Joyce´s and Bloom´s
> >"extraordinariness"
> >which are as vivid as the one here quoted.
> > Young Eric´s or any Veen or Zemski (explicit) sexual fantasy
should
> >not be
> >confused with VN´s own, to the point of " continuously"
permeating his
> >novel
> >like a bass background.
> >
> > VN ( on page 346) writes about Joyce´s parodies :
> > "We can thus define clichés as bits of dead prose and of
rotting
> >poetry.
> >However the parody has its interruptions. Now what Joyce does here
is to
> >cause
> >some of that dead and rotten stuff to reveal here and there its
live
> >source,
> >its primary freshness (...) Joyce manages to build up something
real -
> >pathos,
> >pity, compassion - out of the dead formulas which he
parodies".
> >
> > I also think that this very real, compassionate and golden
atmosphere
> >is
> >something VN achieved in ADA, albeit by other means no less
> >"extraordinary".
> >Paradise regained?
> > Jansy
> >
> >----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> >----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> >confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient,
please
> >refrain from any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this
> >information. Please be aware that such actions are prohibited. If
you
> >have received this transmission in error, kindly notify us by
calling
> >1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your
> >cooperation.
> >
>
>----- End forwarded message -----
----- End forwarded message -----
----- End forwarded message -----
made about young Dionysus hidden among the nymphs ( Homer?).
I still think it is worthwhile to check the reference to Huck because
sometimes we remember one information and connect it erroneously to another
that is only similar to it.
Jansy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 4:34 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
Re: the observation about opened and closed legs: it's made by Judith
Loftus, the woman Huck visits disguised as a girl in Ch. XI. After seeing
through his disguise, she tells him two other indicators of his maleness:
the way he threads a needle and the way he throws a bar of lead at a rat.
Meanwhile, you can't use Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn interchangeably. You can't
determine someone's opinion on one novel from the same person's opinion on
another. Huck is a much deeper and more artful novel than Tom, and if the
Nabokovs aired an opinion only on Tom, then it's true that there really is
no comment of theirs anywhere in print about Huck.
>From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
>Reply-To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>Subject: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
>Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 09:06:18 -0800
>
>I think the source can be found in Stacy Schiff's biography Vera. I
don't
>have a copy at hand, but I'm quite sure that's where I have read about
>Vera's dislike of Huck Finn - but what Schiff's source for this was, I
>can't recall.
>
>Ole Nyegaard
>Aarhus University, Denmark
>---------------------------------------------
>EDNOTE. Thanks to Ole Nyegaard's sugestion, I located the passage(s) in
VERA:
>pp. 136, 166, & 200. The Nabokovs had consulted Edmund Wilson for
recommended
>reading for 12-yr-old Dmitri. Wilson suggested Twain's _Tom Sawyer_.
Vera,
>according to Wilson, thought that it was "an immoral book that
teaches bad
>behavior and suggests to little boys the idea of taking an interest in
little
>girls too young." Schiff repeats the material on pp. 166 & 200.
Huck was, of
>course, more of a rapscallion than Tom. As a boy I recall being puzzled
by
>Tom's (or was it Huck's) observation that the way to tell (disguised?)
males
>from females. When an object is tossed toward their laps, men
instinctively
>close their legs; women open them (so as to catch the object in their
dress
>folds).
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU> den 8. marts
2005 kl.
>01:26 +0000 skrev:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----- Forwarded message from Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com -----
> > Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 18:04:16 -0500
> > From: "Brown, Andrew"
<Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> >Reply-To: "Brown, Andrew"
<Andrew.Brown@bbdodetroit.com>
> > Subject: RE: Spam: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
> > To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >
> >
> >To Brian Boyd, Care of the VN Forum:
> >
> >
> >It may take me some time to unearth my source for this, but it is
in
> >print. Both
> >VN and Vera disliked the book from when Dmitri was still a child,
and
> >they were
> >paying attention to the literature he might soon be reading. This
may
> >have been
> >when the family first came to the United States, if not earlier.
> >
> >
> >They disapproved of the word used throughout the book to describe
the
> >slave Jim.
> >Clearly, their dislike of this vulgarity was consistent with their
> >disgust with
> >prejudice and bigotry of all kinds. But it seems, or seemed, not to
take
> >into
> >account the fact that the action of Finn takes place in the
slaveholding
> >American South of about 1835. I'll do my best to find the source.
> >
> >
> >Andrew
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> ----------
> >> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B.
Johnson
> >> Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >> Sent: Monday, March 7, 2005 4:34 PM
> >> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >> Subject: Spam: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
> >>
> >> Where does VN express this opinion of Huckleberry Finn?
> >>
> >> BB
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
[mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
> >Behalf Of
> >> Donald B. Johnson
> >> Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2005 6:26 a.m.
> >> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >> Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and
petards
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Forwarded message from as-brown@comcast.net -----
> >> Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 19:21:53 -0500
> >> From: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> >> Reply-To: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> >> Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats
and
> >petards
> >> To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >>
> >> Readers of Richard Ellmann's biography of Joyce, as well as
readers of
> >the
> >> now-hard-to-find letters Joyce sent Nora from Dublin in
December of
> >1909 know
> >> that Bloom's predelictions and peccadillos are, basically,
those of
> >Joyce
> >> himself. With respect to the writer of the Lectures on
Literature
> >quoted
> >> below, I demure and suggest instead that in art, which Joyce
and
> >Nabokov both
> >> pursued, in fact, in the modernist tradition formulated by
Wilde and
> >others,
> >> taste and morals mean much less than whether a work is written
well or
> >badly.
> >> Nabokov was a man who could not find it in himself to accept a
work like
> >> Huckleberry Finn because of what he considered its vulgarity.
In this
> >matter
> >my
> >> own views part company with VNs, in spite of my considering
him the
> >greatest
> >> American writer of the 20th century. When it comes to art (and
much
> >else,
> >> actually), you don't have to agree with anybody, not even your
heroes,
> >all of
> >> the time.
> >>
> >> Andrew
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: D. Barton Johnson
> >> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >> Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 4:10 PM
> >> Subject: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and
petards
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello
> >> Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 11:45 AM
> >> Subject: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >>
> >>
> >> Dear List,
> >>
> >> There is an important reference in VN´s lecture on Joyce
which I
> >couldn´t
> >find
> >> yesterday but that I can now add:
> >>
> >> I´m copying from Fredon Bowers edition of Lectures on
Literature,
> >page 287:
> >>
> >> "Another consideration in relation to Bloom: those so
many who have
> >written
> >so
> >> much about "Ulysses" are either very pure men or
very depraved men.
> >They are
> >> inclined to regard Bloom as a very ordinary nature, and
apparently Joyce
> >> himself intended to portray an ordinary person. It is
obvious,
> >however, that
> >> in the sexual department Bloom is, if not on the verge of
insanity, at
> >least a
> >> good clinical example of extreme sexual preoccupation and
perversity
> >with all
> >> kinds of curious complications. His case is strictly
heterosexual, of
> >course -
> >> not homosexual as most of the ladies and gentlemen are in
Proust (...)
> >- but
> >> within the wide limits of Bloom´s love for the opposite sex he
indulges
> >in
> >acts>
> >> and dreams that are definitely subnormal in the zoological,
evolutional
> >sense.
> >> I shall not bore you with a list of his curious desires, but
this I
> >will say:
> >> in Bloom´s mind and in Joyce´s book the theme of sex is
continually
> >mixed and
> >> intertwined with the theme of the latrine. God knows I have
no
> >objection
> >> whatsoever to so-called frankness in novels. On the contrary,
we have
> >too
> >> little of it, and what there is has become in its turn
conventional and
> >trite,
> >> as used by so-called tough writers, the darlings of the book
clubs, the
> >pets
> >of
> >> clubwomen. But I do object to the folowing: Bloom is supposed
to be a
> >rather
> >> orginary citizen. Now it is not true that the mind of an
ordinary
> >citizen
> >> continuously dwells on physiological things. I object to the
> >continuously,
> >not
> >> to the disgusting. All this very special pathological stuff
seems
> >artificial
> >> and unnecessary in this particular context".
> >> ..............................................
> >> There are other comments by VN about Joyce´s and Bloom´s
> >"extraordinariness"
> >> which are as vivid as the one here quoted.
> >> Young Eric´s or any Veen or Zemski (explicit) sexual
fantasy should
> >not be
> >> confused with VN´s own, to the point of "
continuously" permeating his
> >novel
> >> like a bass background.
> >>
> >> VN ( on page 346) writes about Joyce´s parodies :
> >> "We can thus define clichés as bits of dead prose and
of rotting
> >poetry.
> >> However the parody has its interruptions. Now what Joyce does
here is
> >to cause
> >> some of that dead and rotten stuff to reveal here and there
its live
> >source,
> >> its primary freshness (...) Joyce manages to build up
something real -
> >pathos,
> >> pity, compassion - out of the dead formulas which he
parodies".
> >>
> >> I also think that this very real, compassionate and golden
atmosphere
> >is
> >> something VN achieved in ADA, albeit by other means no less
> >"extraordinary".
> >> Paradise regained?
> >> Jansy
> >>
> >> ----- End forwarded message -----
> >>
> >> ----- End forwarded message -----
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> >confidential
> >or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please
refrain
> >from any
> >disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this information.
Please be
> >aware
> >that such actions are prohibited. If you have received this
transmission
> >in
> >error, kindly notify us by calling 1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to
> >helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your cooperation.
> >
> >
> >----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> >
> >To Brian Boyd, Care of the VN Forum:
> >
> >It may take me some time to unearth my source for this, but it is
in
> >print. Both VN and Vera disliked the book from when Dmitri was
still a
> >child, and they were paying attention to the literature he might
soon be
> >reading. This may have been when the family first came to the
United
> >States, if not earlier.
> >
> >They disapproved of the word used throughout the book to describe
the
> >slave Jim. Clearly, their dislike of this vulgarity was consistent
with
> >their disgust with prejudice and bigotry of all kinds. But it
seems, or
> >seemed, not to take into account the fact that the action of Finn
takes
> >place in the slaveholding American South of about 1835. I'll do my
best
> >to find the source.
> >
> >Andrew
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----------
> >From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum on behalf of Donald B. Johnson
> >Reply To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >Sent: Monday, March 7, 2005 4:34 PM
> >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >Subject: Spam: Re: Fw: VN on Huckleberry Finn?
> >
> >Where does VN express this opinion of Huckleberry Finn?
> >
> >BB
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [[ mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >]mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf Of
> >Donald B. Johnson
> >Sent: Tuesday, 8 March 2005 6:26 a.m.
> >To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> >Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----- Forwarded message from as-brown@comcast.net -----
> > Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 19:21:53 -0500
> > From: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> >Reply-To: Andrew Brown <as-brown@comcast.net>
> > Subject: Re: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and
petards
> > To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> >
> >Readers of Richard Ellmann's biography of Joyce, as well as
readers of
> >the
> >now-hard-to-find letters Joyce sent Nora from Dublin in December of
1909
> >know
> >that Bloom's predelictions and peccadillos are, basically, those of
Joyce
> >himself. With respect to the writer of the Lectures on Literature
quoted
> >below, I demure and suggest instead that in art, which Joyce and
Nabokov
> >both
> >pursued, in fact, in the modernist tradition formulated by Wilde
and
> >others,
> >taste and morals mean much less than whether a work is written well
or
> >badly.
> >Nabokov was a man who could not find it in himself to accept a work
like
> >Huckleberry Finn because of what he considered its vulgarity. In
this
> >matter my
> >own views part company with VNs, in spite of my considering him
the
> >greatest
> >American writer of the 20th century. When it comes to art (and much
else,
> >actually), you don't have to agree with anybody, not even your
heroes,
> >all of
> >the time.
> >
> >Andrew
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: D. Barton Johnson
> > To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 4:10 PM
> > Subject: Fw: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello
> > Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2005 11:45 AM
> > Subject: VN speaks for himself to on pets,peats and petards
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear List,
> >
> > There is an important reference in VN´s lecture on Joyce which I
> >couldn´t find
> >yesterday but that I can now add:
> >
> > I´m copying from Fredon Bowers edition of Lectures on Literature,
page
> >287:
> >
> > "Another consideration in relation to Bloom: those so many
who have
> >written so
> >much about "Ulysses" are either very pure men or very
depraved men. They
> >are
> >inclined to regard Bloom as a very ordinary nature, and apparently
Joyce
> >himself intended to portray an ordinary person. It is obvious,
however,
> >that
> >in the sexual department Bloom is, if not on the verge of insanity,
at
> >least a
> >good clinical example of extreme sexual preoccupation and
perversity with
> >all
> >kinds of curious complications. His case is strictly heterosexual,
of
> >course -
> >not homosexual as most of the ladies and gentlemen are in Proust
(...) -
> >but
> >within the wide limits of Bloom´s love for the opposite sex he
indulges
> >in acts
> >and dreams that are definitely subnormal in the zoological,
evolutional
> >sense.
> >I shall not bore you with a list of his curious desires, but this I
will
> >say:
> >in Bloom´s mind and in Joyce´s book the theme of sex is continually
mixed
> >and
> >intertwined with the theme of the latrine. God knows I have no
objection
> >whatsoever to so-called frankness in novels. On the contrary, we
have
> >too
> >little of it, and what there is has become in its turn conventional
and
> >trite,
> >as used by so-called tough writers, the darlings of the book clubs,
the
> >pets of
> >clubwomen. But I do object to the folowing: Bloom is supposed to
be a
> >rather
> >orginary citizen. Now it is not true that the mind of an ordinary
> >citizen
> >continuously dwells on physiological things. I object to the
> >continuously, not
> >to the disgusting. All this very special pathological stuff seems
> >artificial
> >and unnecessary in this particular context".
> > ..............................................
> > There are other comments by VN about Joyce´s and Bloom´s
> >"extraordinariness"
> >which are as vivid as the one here quoted.
> > Young Eric´s or any Veen or Zemski (explicit) sexual fantasy
should
> >not be
> >confused with VN´s own, to the point of " continuously"
permeating his
> >novel
> >like a bass background.
> >
> > VN ( on page 346) writes about Joyce´s parodies :
> > "We can thus define clichés as bits of dead prose and of
rotting
> >poetry.
> >However the parody has its interruptions. Now what Joyce does here
is to
> >cause
> >some of that dead and rotten stuff to reveal here and there its
live
> >source,
> >its primary freshness (...) Joyce manages to build up something
real -
> >pathos,
> >pity, compassion - out of the dead formulas which he
parodies".
> >
> > I also think that this very real, compassionate and golden
atmosphere
> >is
> >something VN achieved in ADA, albeit by other means no less
> >"extraordinary".
> >Paradise regained?
> > Jansy
> >
> >----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> >----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >This message and any attachments contain information, which may be
> >confidential or privileged. If you are not the intended recipient,
please
> >refrain from any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this
> >information. Please be aware that such actions are prohibited. If
you
> >have received this transmission in error, kindly notify us by
calling
> >1-800-262-4723 or e-mail to helpdesk@bbdo.com. We appreciate your
> >cooperation.
> >
>
>----- End forwarded message -----
----- End forwarded message -----
----- End forwarded message -----