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Re: Nabokov and Twelve-Year-Old Girls ...
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In a message dated 2/24/2012 9:29:36 AM Central Standard Time,
STADLEN@AOL.COM writes:
>
> How can Humbert's so-called "redemption" entail his going straight off to
> commit his filthy murder, in which not he but another is Clearly Guilty --
> both of child-sex-crime and his own murder? I am using Nabokov's own
> adjective: "There is no rhetorical link between a filthy murderer [Raskolnikov],
> and this unfortunate girl [Sonya]." (Lectures in Russian Literature, 1981,
> p. 110.) Nabokov was clear-sighted, not sentimental -- or, at least, much
> more clear-sighted than sentimental. His summing-up of Humbert was: "a vain
> and cruel wretch who manages to appear ' touching ' ''. (Strong Opinions,
> 1973, p. 84.) And: "Both [Hermann and Humbert] are neurotic scoundrels, yet
> there is a green lane in Paradise where Humbert is permitted to wander at
> dusk once a year; but Hell shall never parole Hermann." (Preface to Despair,
> 1965.) So a fraction of one-365th or -366th "redemption" is all that is
> granted Humbert by his creator, ten years on.
>
> Anthony Stadlen
>
>
>
Isn't Quilty guilty (sorry) of the same crimes as Humbert, or worse? Even
Lo eventually finds C. Q. a little too creepy and abandons him. I don't know
that I'd call the murder of Quilty "filthy" or even most foul and
unnatural--as these things go. I'm not sure that I quite understand your initial
question. Frankly, I'd find it easier to shoot Frank Langella than Peter
Sellars, if a choice had to be made. I think a one-day parole is fair enough for
H. H.
RSG
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STADLEN@AOL.COM writes:
>
> How can Humbert's so-called "redemption" entail his going straight off to
> commit his filthy murder, in which not he but another is Clearly Guilty --
> both of child-sex-crime and his own murder? I am using Nabokov's own
> adjective: "There is no rhetorical link between a filthy murderer [Raskolnikov],
> and this unfortunate girl [Sonya]." (Lectures in Russian Literature, 1981,
> p. 110.) Nabokov was clear-sighted, not sentimental -- or, at least, much
> more clear-sighted than sentimental. His summing-up of Humbert was: "a vain
> and cruel wretch who manages to appear ' touching ' ''. (Strong Opinions,
> 1973, p. 84.) And: "Both [Hermann and Humbert] are neurotic scoundrels, yet
> there is a green lane in Paradise where Humbert is permitted to wander at
> dusk once a year; but Hell shall never parole Hermann." (Preface to Despair,
> 1965.) So a fraction of one-365th or -366th "redemption" is all that is
> granted Humbert by his creator, ten years on.
>
> Anthony Stadlen
>
>
>
Isn't Quilty guilty (sorry) of the same crimes as Humbert, or worse? Even
Lo eventually finds C. Q. a little too creepy and abandons him. I don't know
that I'd call the murder of Quilty "filthy" or even most foul and
unnatural--as these things go. I'm not sure that I quite understand your initial
question. Frankly, I'd find it easier to shoot Frank Langella than Peter
Sellars, if a choice had to be made. I think a one-day parole is fair enough for
H. H.
RSG
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/