Dear Carolyn,
Spiritualism was an enormous fad all over Europe and within the upper classes of Russia throughout the 19nth century, following the “creation” or “invention” of spiritualism by the American Fox (Foxe?) sisters. An immensely gifted European illusionist called something like David Home or Daniel Hone, held séances for royals and rich folks in general at which he supposedly put them in touch with dead relatives through such decisive and doubt-destroying means as spewing ectoplasm and having the interred relatives come back to touch the faces of the bereaved and gullible. I know I would certainly feel comforted if one of my dead relatives came and rubbed my face.
The Foxe (Fox?) sisters ultimately confessed that the knocking noises that arose in their rooms were caused by one of the sisters cracking a toe joint (and God saw to it that she suffered dreadfully from arthritis all her days). Home (Hone?), if I have that name right, was also exposed. I always thought he should have been credited as one of the great illusionists of his day. Perhaps he has been.
All this is just to say that it’s no surprise that the Nabokov’s played at holding séances. It was more popular than Monopoly. More genteel than Twister. I don’t want to jump on Mr. Field, but he has made himself notorious for finding a sinister meaning behind every activity the Nabokovs ever engaged in.
Andrew Brown
On 11/5/06 12:37 PM, "NABOKV-L" <NABOKV-L@HOLYCROSS.EDU> wrote:
> To the List,
>
> I am not pushing this "theory" because I have my doubts about it. But I was
> able to find the probable source of my belief that mysticism/spiritualism was
> a bone of contention in the Nabokov family.
>
> In Field's "Life and Art" biography (p 31) he writes that VN's mother had been
> dabbling in seances in which the young Kyril was apparently acting as medium
> in some way,
>
> ... until her husband finally put his foot down; "No more seances! That's
> enough!"
>
> Carolyn
>
> p.s. Presumably this information came from Field's discussions with VN as no
> other source is provided.
>
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