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When you write that it's "not a Nabokovian kind of convolution (as I
see it)", the inference is that your conclusion is entirely subjective,
albeit based, no doubt, on profound knowledge of VN's work. Is there a
theoretical model of VN's degrees of "convolution"? If not, your guess
is as good as mine -- and vice versa! Furthermore, what's convoluted
about giving the man's actual surname? On the basis of my
embarrassingly limited reading of VN's works thus far, I get the
impression that the overwhelming majority of allusions and covert
references in his fiction has bypassed scholars, and will continue to
do so indefinitely. There is no law that I'm aware of that forbade VN
from tossing in a seemingly random allusion that gives the thrill of
recognition to one who understands it, as well as enhancing a
pre-existing skein of allusions.
Mike M.
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Jansy Mello: I formulated my point incorrectly. The best term for
"cory-door" shouldn't have been "wordplay," but another one, perhaps
related to phonetics, to an invented system for the notation of sounds.
In this case, it wouldn't have to mean anything more complex than
simply a transposition of "corridor."
The importance of the indication of William Cory's name in the context
of ADA isn't totally clear yet. It's still too convoluted a way to
point to Sir Philip Sydney, one that's not a Nabokovian kind of
convolution (as I see it). There must be other hidden links that'll
turn this hide-and-seek allusion into something less obscure. Perhaps
if one searched into Speak,Memory's recollections of VN tutors, or
those amusing two (Beauchamp and Campbell) in Pale Fire, following the
lead of "tutors" Or references to ancient Greek?