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Re: Thinking of LOLITA in Ashland, Ore
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From: D. Barton Johnson <Lcobo@aol.com>
Fellow Nabokovians,
First, my thanks to the dozen people who heped with my problems
accessing my Santa Barbara e-mail. I was, briefly, able to look at it
before being kicked out again. No matter, I shall be back there soon---so
patience please, if I haven't answered you.
Second, collective wisdom has convinced me that HH's shattered
nerves are not the reason for his "losing time" and "On second
thoughts...".
The first is a calque from French that is also found in Russian and is
consistent with HH's background; the second is British (vs. American)
usage.
Also, as Miale points out, there are similar oddities earlier in the text.
I suspect my eagerness to see HH's supposed linguistic deterioration arose
from my inclination to see all of the novel's later events as HH's
post-breakdown hallucinations -- as argued by Alexander Dolinin and
others.
Best, Don Johnson.
Fellow Nabokovians,
First, my thanks to the dozen people who heped with my problems
accessing my Santa Barbara e-mail. I was, briefly, able to look at it
before being kicked out again. No matter, I shall be back there soon---so
patience please, if I haven't answered you.
Second, collective wisdom has convinced me that HH's shattered
nerves are not the reason for his "losing time" and "On second
thoughts...".
The first is a calque from French that is also found in Russian and is
consistent with HH's background; the second is British (vs. American)
usage.
Also, as Miale points out, there are similar oddities earlier in the text.
I suspect my eagerness to see HH's supposed linguistic deterioration arose
from my inclination to see all of the novel's later events as HH's
post-breakdown hallucinations -- as argued by Alexander Dolinin and
others.
Best, Don Johnson.