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As Vladimir Nabokov wrote: "his dove-grey worlds ... (fwd)
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From: Sandy P. Klein <spklein52@HotMail.com>
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,885727,00.html
Letters
Saturday February 1, 2003
The Guardian
Glad to be grey
It is nonsense to assert, as Janet Malcolm does, that The Lady with the Little
Dog (not "Dog" or "Lapdog") is an exception in Chekhov's work where "no one dies
or has died" ("The kernel of truth", January 25). From a collection of his
stories at hand, I note that half share this trait ("The Kiss", "Gooseberries",
"Concerning Love", "A Case History"). The recurrence of grey details (the
"ashes" Malcolm says "infiltrate" the story) are the features of Chekhov's
language. As Vladimir Nabokov wrote: "his dove-grey worlds and words are in the
exact same tint of grey_ between that of an old fence and of a low cloud". The
allegedly "indistinct" characters are reflected in a particularity of trifles;
Anna's "delicate neck and fine grey eyes" and the drabness of Gurov's public
life are aspects of the mood as a whole, the greyness is a lack of contrast
between character and environment.
Matthew Riddell
London N8
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,885727,00.html
Letters
Saturday February 1, 2003
The Guardian
Glad to be grey
It is nonsense to assert, as Janet Malcolm does, that The Lady with the Little
Dog (not "Dog" or "Lapdog") is an exception in Chekhov's work where "no one dies
or has died" ("The kernel of truth", January 25). From a collection of his
stories at hand, I note that half share this trait ("The Kiss", "Gooseberries",
"Concerning Love", "A Case History"). The recurrence of grey details (the
"ashes" Malcolm says "infiltrate" the story) are the features of Chekhov's
language. As Vladimir Nabokov wrote: "his dove-grey worlds and words are in the
exact same tint of grey_ between that of an old fence and of a low cloud". The
allegedly "indistinct" characters are reflected in a particularity of trifles;
Anna's "delicate neck and fine grey eyes" and the drabness of Gurov's public
life are aspects of the mood as a whole, the greyness is a lack of contrast
between character and environment.
Matthew Riddell
London N8