Subject
Re: Source for _Despair_? (fwd)
Date
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Peter A. Kartsev" <petr@glas.apc.org>
Here are some points that in my opinion circumstantially
support Phil Howerton's suggestion:
VN could well be interested in a real life murder case, as
demonstrated by his interest in the Nimer case, see Boyd,
vol.2, p.366.
There seem to be some similarities between the characters
of Rouse and Hermann, as far as the former can be deduced
on the basis of available information. According to some
reference works on true crime that I consulted, Rouse was
extremely talkative after his arrest, thereby virtually
hanging himself on his own evidence. Hermann, too, was
quite a talkative murderer. Rouse's ill-advised visit to
one of his mistresses after the crime, as described by
Ambler, reminds me of Hermann's arrogant belief that his
position after the murder was safe and unassailable. Rouse
wrote a full confession of his crime, to be published later,
and so did Hermann. Finally, in WWI Rouse received a head
injury, after which he changed from a quiet teetotaller to a
liar with an obsessive Casanova complex. Hermann also was a
compulsive liar, according to himself: "I lied as a
nightingale sings, ecstatically, self-obliviously", etc. And,
although Ambler does not make it quite clear, Rouse was
looking for a man of approximately his own build, so that the
dead body would be presumed his.
This does not prove anything, and in any case, the origin of
"Despair" was, of course, in Nabokov's imagination, but the
Rouse case may well have sparked it.
P.S. Since I wrote this note, Phil Howerton seems to have found
conclusive evidence - but I expect he'll tell the story himself.
--
Peter A. Kartsev
Moscow, Russia
Phone: (095) 471-5457
E-mail: petr@glas.apc.org
En cada instante puede revelarte su amor Helena de Troya. -- JLB
From: "Peter A. Kartsev" <petr@glas.apc.org>
Here are some points that in my opinion circumstantially
support Phil Howerton's suggestion:
VN could well be interested in a real life murder case, as
demonstrated by his interest in the Nimer case, see Boyd,
vol.2, p.366.
There seem to be some similarities between the characters
of Rouse and Hermann, as far as the former can be deduced
on the basis of available information. According to some
reference works on true crime that I consulted, Rouse was
extremely talkative after his arrest, thereby virtually
hanging himself on his own evidence. Hermann, too, was
quite a talkative murderer. Rouse's ill-advised visit to
one of his mistresses after the crime, as described by
Ambler, reminds me of Hermann's arrogant belief that his
position after the murder was safe and unassailable. Rouse
wrote a full confession of his crime, to be published later,
and so did Hermann. Finally, in WWI Rouse received a head
injury, after which he changed from a quiet teetotaller to a
liar with an obsessive Casanova complex. Hermann also was a
compulsive liar, according to himself: "I lied as a
nightingale sings, ecstatically, self-obliviously", etc. And,
although Ambler does not make it quite clear, Rouse was
looking for a man of approximately his own build, so that the
dead body would be presumed his.
This does not prove anything, and in any case, the origin of
"Despair" was, of course, in Nabokov's imagination, but the
Rouse case may well have sparked it.
P.S. Since I wrote this note, Phil Howerton seems to have found
conclusive evidence - but I expect he'll tell the story himself.
--
Peter A. Kartsev
Moscow, Russia
Phone: (095) 471-5457
E-mail: petr@glas.apc.org
En cada instante puede revelarte su amor Helena de Troya. -- JLB