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Re: Fwd: RE: Dissertation Abstract: Sympathy & Suffering in LOLITA
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----- Forwarded message from jansy@aetern.us -----
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 14:49:57 -0300
From: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello <jansy@aetern.us>
Reply-To: Jansy Berndt de Souza Mello <jansy@aetern.us>
Subject: Re: Fwd: RE: Dissertation Abstract: Sympathy & Suffering in
LOLITA
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Dear List,
Dr. Dawson wrote that "While I thank Mr. Shimanovich for his prompt and
passionate response to my dissertation abstract(...) I would have found
constructive criticism (...) more helpful than mere dismissive reproach. Our Ed
agreed that " criticism is best when it is substantiated. Her work takes a
stance that is controversial but well worth focussed commentary".
Dr. Dawson´s dissertation brings up an interesting point when she "intends to
explore the roots of the culturally-specific assumptions that a reader may
bring to so notorious a text as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita (...)"
A great number of participants of Nabokov´s list come from very different
countries and when they delve into the intrincacies of VN´s novels they
certainly bring into their commentaries new perspectives, perhaps moulded by
their cultures, which usually opens up new ways to read Nabokov.
If I understood her project, Dr.Dawson is quite clear about what she intends to
achieve when she examines "the ways Lolita challenges those
[culturally-specific]assumptions" better to evaluate "the extent to which
cultural theory and literary products interact with and upon each other to
produce a society's collective ideals".
Her departure is the American culture where she finds "overblown consideration
given to pedophilic narratives" that may "interfere with attention to the
larger questions Nabokov tracks throughout his oeuvre".
According to her "through demolition of the stereotypes of "pervert" and
"victim,"Nabokov teaches the reader to reject categories such as "pedophile"
and "adolescent" in favor of attention to the human beings we force into these
roles".
In the opinion of Mr.G. Shimanovitch "It will take much more than a dissertation
to harness VN to perform judicial feats of the kind this abstract calls for.
Good doublespeak for Orwell's 1984 makes bad criticism of VN. That would not
fly, Mrs. Dawson (...)".
I imagine that those who are regular participants in the N-List must be
acquainted with Mr. G. Shimanovich´s "passionate responses" and as long as we
can turn animation or animus into stimuli to further debates, it is still
possible to bring back the issues that suffered " a dismissive reproach" and
while still valuing Mr.Shimanovich´s contributions.
In my opinion Dr.Dawson did not intend "to harness VN" in any way, but study
"cultural assumptions" ( and "bias" ) that stand in the way of a more full
appreciation of Nabokov´s complex novels.
Contrary to tyrannic impositions, such as we find described in Bend Sinister,
what Dr.Dawson is arguing for seems to be the need to question cultural and
personal stereotypes and this is not the same as practicing "doublespeak".
Jansy
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald B. Johnson
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 2:10 PM
Subject: Fwd: RE: Dissertation Abstract: Sympathy & Suffering in LOLITA
----- Forwarded message from gshiman@optonline.net -----
Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 07:52:02 -0400
From: George Shimanovich <gshiman@optonline.net>
Reply-To: George Shimanovich <gshiman@optonline.net>
Subject: RE: Dissertation Abstract: Sympathy & Suffering in LOLITA
To: 'Vladimir Nabokov Forum'
It will take much more than a dissertation to harness VN to perform judicial
feats of the kind this abstract calls for. Good doublespeak for Orwell's
1984 makes bad criticism of VN. That would not fly, Mrs. Dawson.
Non-realities of such 'observations' are well illustrated by another VN's
novel, Bend Sinister, which, one may argue, 'challenges' your outlook.
>Through demolition of the stereotypes of "pervert" and "victim," Nabokov
teaches the reader to reject categories such as "pedophile" and "adolescent"
in favor of attention to the human beings we force into these roles.
- George Shimanovich
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf
Of Donald B. Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 10:35 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Dissertation Abstract: Sympathy & Suffering in LOLITA
Per Prof. Johnson's kind suggestion, below is my dissertation abstact.
PORTIONS OF HEAVEN AND HELL: SYMPATHY AND SUFFERING IN LOLITA
Kellie Dawson, Ph.D.
Cornell University
My fascination with the connection between literature and mainstream America
is the basis for this dissertation which intends to explore the roots of the
culturally-specific assumptions that a reader may bring to so notorious a
text as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Firmly grounded in my interest in
observing the vagaries of the American imagination, this work examines the
ways Lolita challenges those assumptions and how it may even have had the
effect of transforming them. In so doing I reveal the extent to which
cultural theory and literary products interact with and upon each other to
produce a society's collective ideals.
Although Vladimir Nabokov denies that he is a writer of didactic fiction,
Lolita does carry a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, even though it is the
most popular and widely read of his novels, it is also the most resisted.
Its characters, situations and themes are so sensational that they tend to
distract from the deeper inquiry that is at the core of this inflammatory
text. Even as scholars acknowledge it as a literary masterpiece it has never
lost its reputation as a "dirty" book - and this reputation still receives
more popular attention than do the issues it raises about the tenuous nature
of human civility. The overblown consideration given to pedophilic
narratives in our culture creates an imbalance of reader engagement that may
interfere with attention to the larger questions Nabokov tracks throughout
his oeuvre. Lolita, along with being an insightful report of 1950s American
culture and a masterful demonstration of the flexibility of the English
langu! age, is an extraordinary examination of both the heights and the
depths of human sensibility. In this novel, Nabokov demonstrates the
suffering of the most "monstrous" of men and convinces his readers to
sympathize with him even as they continue to abhor his crimes.
Through his extended reading of early sexologists and his research into
American adolescence, Nabokov was well aware of the image of "the pedophile"
and "the teen" his readers would bring to his novel. In Lolita he
systematically demolishes these expectations. His "pedophile" is not a
drooling pervert who lures little girls into the bushes - and since his
"teen" is no blushing innocent the reader must re-evaluate what she thought
she knew about adult sexual deviance and child sexuality. Complications such
as these, of suppositions the reader had assumed she could take for granted,
influence her to re-examine her own humanity, her own complicity in the
ideologies that usually cause her to pre-judge and condemn those who are
most in need of sympathy. Through demolition of the stereotypes of "pervert"
and "victim," Nabokov teaches the reader to reject categories such as
"pedophile" and "adolescent" in favor of attention to the human beings we
force into these roles.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
----- End forwarded message -----
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It will take much more then dissertation to harness VN to perform judicial
feats of the kind this abstract calls for. Good doublespeak for Orwell's 1984
makes bad criticism of VN. That would not fly, Mrs. Dawson. Non-realities of
such 'observations' are well illustrated by another VN's novel, Bend Sinister,
which, one may argue, 'challenges' your outlook.
>Through demolition of the stereotypes of "pervert" and "victim," Nabokov
teaches the reader to reject categories such as "pedophile" and "adolescent" in
favor of attention to the human beings we force into these roles.
- George Shimanovich
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf Of
Donald B. Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 10:35 PM
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Dissertation Abstract: Sympathy & Suffering in LOLITA
Per Prof. Johnson's kind suggestion, below is my dissertation abstact.
PORTIONS OF HEAVEN AND HELL: SYMPATHY AND SUFFERING IN LOLITA
Kellie Dawson, Ph.D.
Cornell University
My fascination with the connection between literature and mainstream America
is the basis for this dissertation which intends to explore the roots of the
culturally-specific assumptions that a reader may bring to so notorious a text
as Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Firmly grounded in my interest in observing the
vagaries of the American imagination, this work examines the ways Lolita
challenges those assumptions and how it may even have had the effect of
transforming them. In so doing I reveal the extent to which cultural theory and
literary products interact with and upon each other to produce a society's
collective ideals.
Although Vladimir Nabokov denies that he is a writer of didactic fiction,
Lolita does carry a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, even though it is the most
popular and widely read of his novels, it is also the most resisted. Its
characters, situations and themes are so sensational that they tend to distract
from the deeper inquiry that is at the core of this inflammatory text. Even as
scholars acknowledge it as a literary masterpiece it has never lost its
reputation as a "dirty" book - and this reputation still receives more popular
attention than do the issues it raises about the tenuous nature of human
civility. The overblown consideration given to pedophilic narratives in our
culture creates an imbalance of reader engagement that may interfere with
attention to the larger questions Nabokov tracks throughout his oeuvre. Lolita,
along with being an insightful report of 1950s American culture and a masterful
demonstration of the flexibility of the English langu! age, is an extraordinary
examination of both the heights and the depths of human sensibility. In this
novel, Nabokov demonstrates the suffering of the most "monstrous" of men and
convinces his readers to sympathize with him even as they continue to abhor his
crimes.
Through his extended reading of early sexologists and his research into
American adolescence, Nabokov was well aware of the image of "the pedophile"
and "the teen" his readers would bring to his novel. In Lolita he
systematically demolishes these expectations. His "pedophile" is not a drooling
pervert who lures little girls into the bushes - and since his "teen" is no
blushing innocent the reader must re-evaluate what she thought she knew about
adult sexual deviance and child sexuality. Complications such as these, of
suppositions the reader had assumed she could take for granted, influence her
to re-examine her own humanity, her own complicity in the ideologies that
usually cause her to pre-judge and condemn those who are most in need of
sympathy. Through demolition of the stereotypes of "pervert" and "victim,"
Nabokov teaches the reader to reject categories such as "pedophile" and
"adolescent" in favor of attention to the human beings we force into these
roles.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
----- End forwarded message -----