Matt Roth: It occurs to me that some
readers of TOOL (my students included!) will not recognize that "Hubert H.
Hubert," while clearly sending us back to Humbert Humbert, also owes something
nominal to Hubert H. Humphrey, the American senator, vice-president (under LBJ),
and presidential candidate from Minnesota.
JM: A few months ago someone suggested
a link bt. Humbert Humbert and the naturalist Humboldt. Now MR links
TOoL's Hubert H Hubert to H.H.Humphrey. Probably Nabokov, not having
had access to google-type search instruments, could not foresee all the H.H
"good and bad guys" who might have been associated with these initials, so
he was unable to avoid indicating people which he didn't intend to
mention? Even if unconsciously his Russian experience might have
included other names with a sinesthetic similar sounding but very black
viscous G?