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Fw: plot of Mary
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plot of Mary
----- Original Message -----
From: Carolyn Kunin
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2002 11:29 AM
Subject: plot of Mary
Dear HH,
I don't have a copy of Mary, and have never read it. But the plot you outline is a very familiar one to me. I have just read it in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The Plot: A beautiful and innocent young man is inspired to seek out life and experience under the influence of a young nobleman's suggestions. He finds it in the theater, in the person of the actress Sybil Vane, for whom he forms a passionate attachment. He courts her until she falls in love with him, which for some reason takes away her acting ability. When she disappoints in the role of Juliet, he callously throws her off and she commits suicide. Of course one of the themes of Dorian Gray is change, moral and physical. Death stops that process for Sybil Vane. Dorian's own moral degeneration is registered only in his portrait. It's a famous story, beautifully written, most unjustly unread. Must be read by every Nabokophile. ASAP.
CK
----- Original Message -----
From: Carolyn Kunin
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2002 11:29 AM
Subject: plot of Mary
Dear HH,
I don't have a copy of Mary, and have never read it. But the plot you outline is a very familiar one to me. I have just read it in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The Plot: A beautiful and innocent young man is inspired to seek out life and experience under the influence of a young nobleman's suggestions. He finds it in the theater, in the person of the actress Sybil Vane, for whom he forms a passionate attachment. He courts her until she falls in love with him, which for some reason takes away her acting ability. When she disappoints in the role of Juliet, he callously throws her off and she commits suicide. Of course one of the themes of Dorian Gray is change, moral and physical. Death stops that process for Sybil Vane. Dorian's own moral degeneration is registered only in his portrait. It's a famous story, beautifully written, most unjustly unread. Must be read by every Nabokophile. ASAP.
CK