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Fw: problem of Caroline Lukin's death in Pale Fire
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problem of Caroline Lukin's death in Pale Fire
----- Original Message -----
From: Carolyn Kunin
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 11:23 PM
Subject: problem of Caroline Lukin's death in Pale Fire
Dear Mr Friedman,
Thanks for responding. You are right that there is nothing except line 71 in Pale Fire regarding the death of Shade's mother.
Is there anything but line 71 ("I was an infant when my parents died.")? Incidentally, whether
Shade was "not quite three" or not quite four when his father died, I wouldn't call him an infant.
I wouldn't call him an infant either, although I wouldn't say he wasn't an infant at that age. But the dictionary has a rather interesting interpretation of the word, that I was not aware of. It turns out that in legal language one can be considered "an infant" until he reaches the age of majority. In other words "an infant" simply equals "a minor."
The law plays a role in Pale Fire; aside from the judge whose house Kinbote claims to inhabit, there is a place-name "Lex" (Latin for law).
I was bothered by "the parricide aged six" who flashes by and is never seen again. Again the dictionary is indispensible. Parricide is easily mistaken to mean "patricide" -- which is what I assumed it did mean, until I looked it up. A parricide is one who kills a parent (without reference to gender).
I did think for a while that John Shade might have killed his mother when he was six, and still am not convinced that he didn't. But there are also some hints in Pale Fire that Shade might have had a brother. That doesn't really solve the problem, but I think the answer is in there somewhere.
Carolyn
p.s. Note that the name Charles Kinbote may be derived from the name Caroline Lukin. Also note that the middle names of Kinbote and Shade add up to an interesting saint, Francis Xavier. It does seem to suggest that they are brothers in some sense.
----- Original Message -----
From: Carolyn Kunin
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 11:23 PM
Subject: problem of Caroline Lukin's death in Pale Fire
Dear Mr Friedman,
Thanks for responding. You are right that there is nothing except line 71 in Pale Fire regarding the death of Shade's mother.
Is there anything but line 71 ("I was an infant when my parents died.")? Incidentally, whether
Shade was "not quite three" or not quite four when his father died, I wouldn't call him an infant.
I wouldn't call him an infant either, although I wouldn't say he wasn't an infant at that age. But the dictionary has a rather interesting interpretation of the word, that I was not aware of. It turns out that in legal language one can be considered "an infant" until he reaches the age of majority. In other words "an infant" simply equals "a minor."
The law plays a role in Pale Fire; aside from the judge whose house Kinbote claims to inhabit, there is a place-name "Lex" (Latin for law).
I was bothered by "the parricide aged six" who flashes by and is never seen again. Again the dictionary is indispensible. Parricide is easily mistaken to mean "patricide" -- which is what I assumed it did mean, until I looked it up. A parricide is one who kills a parent (without reference to gender).
I did think for a while that John Shade might have killed his mother when he was six, and still am not convinced that he didn't. But there are also some hints in Pale Fire that Shade might have had a brother. That doesn't really solve the problem, but I think the answer is in there somewhere.
Carolyn
p.s. Note that the name Charles Kinbote may be derived from the name Caroline Lukin. Also note that the middle names of Kinbote and Shade add up to an interesting saint, Francis Xavier. It does seem to suggest that they are brothers in some sense.