Subject
On Shade's memory
From
Date
Body
I've been very busy and haven't even been reading but a few posts–
I continue reciting Pale Fire, not quite as often, usually just to some suburban trees, stones and floods–
One thing which maybe doesn't come from the repeated recitations is the observation that the reader shouldn't trust entirely the accuracy of Shade's memory, despite what's said in stanza 3,
All colors made me happy: even gray.
My eyes were such that literally they
Took photographs. Whenever I'd permit,
Or, with a silent shiver, order it,
Whatever in my field of vision dwelt-
An indoor scene, hickory leaves, the svelte
Stilettos of a frozen stillicide-
Was printed on my eyelids' nether side
Where it would tarry for an hour or two,
And while this lasted all I had to do
Was close my eyes to reproduce the leaves,
Or indoor scene, or trophies of the eaves.
Actually rereading it here I see that Shade never literally claims an ability of exact recall that lasts longer than an hour or two.
It is the reader who generalizes that Shade's recall of events partake of that photographic perfection.
Indeed that Shade doesn't possess perfect recall is the theme and purpose of the very next stanza.
I cannot understand why from the lake
I could make out our front porch when I'd take
Lake Road to school, whilst now, although no tree
Has intervened, I look but fail to see
Even the roof. Maybe some quirk in space
Has caused a fold or furrow to displace
The fragile vista, the frame house between
Goldsworth and Wordsmith on its square of green.
This is important to keep in mind when reading:
I was no use, no use. The prizes won
In French and history, no doubt, were fun;
At Christmas parties games were rough, no doubt,
And one shy little guest might be left out;
But let’s be fair: while children of her age
Were cast as elves and fairies on the stage
That she’d helped paint for the school pantomime,
My gentle girl appeared as Mother Time,
A bent charwoman with slop pail and broom,
And like a fool I sobbed in the men’s room.
This is surely not an accurate description of the school pantomime, but rather an exaggeration that the reader is supposed to see through. It is simply not believable, to me, that an elementary school teacher would cast a young child into a derogatory role based upon her plainness. Surely any professional teacher in an upper-middle class, college-town, elementary school would possess greater warmth and sensitivity. Surely Shade is exaggerating and, either he or VN, wants us to know it.
Why? Intensification is one of the key, most frequent qualities of aesthetic experience if general. Exaggeration is, of course, a form of intensification, itself frequently used in spontaneous narrative, especially among fisherman (common folklore).
Shade is an intensified fictional figure who has a tendency to exaggerate.
~/gsl
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I continue reciting Pale Fire, not quite as often, usually just to some suburban trees, stones and floods–
One thing which maybe doesn't come from the repeated recitations is the observation that the reader shouldn't trust entirely the accuracy of Shade's memory, despite what's said in stanza 3,
All colors made me happy: even gray.
My eyes were such that literally they
Took photographs. Whenever I'd permit,
Or, with a silent shiver, order it,
Whatever in my field of vision dwelt-
An indoor scene, hickory leaves, the svelte
Stilettos of a frozen stillicide-
Was printed on my eyelids' nether side
Where it would tarry for an hour or two,
And while this lasted all I had to do
Was close my eyes to reproduce the leaves,
Or indoor scene, or trophies of the eaves.
Actually rereading it here I see that Shade never literally claims an ability of exact recall that lasts longer than an hour or two.
It is the reader who generalizes that Shade's recall of events partake of that photographic perfection.
Indeed that Shade doesn't possess perfect recall is the theme and purpose of the very next stanza.
I cannot understand why from the lake
I could make out our front porch when I'd take
Lake Road to school, whilst now, although no tree
Has intervened, I look but fail to see
Even the roof. Maybe some quirk in space
Has caused a fold or furrow to displace
The fragile vista, the frame house between
Goldsworth and Wordsmith on its square of green.
This is important to keep in mind when reading:
I was no use, no use. The prizes won
In French and history, no doubt, were fun;
At Christmas parties games were rough, no doubt,
And one shy little guest might be left out;
But let’s be fair: while children of her age
Were cast as elves and fairies on the stage
That she’d helped paint for the school pantomime,
My gentle girl appeared as Mother Time,
A bent charwoman with slop pail and broom,
And like a fool I sobbed in the men’s room.
This is surely not an accurate description of the school pantomime, but rather an exaggeration that the reader is supposed to see through. It is simply not believable, to me, that an elementary school teacher would cast a young child into a derogatory role based upon her plainness. Surely any professional teacher in an upper-middle class, college-town, elementary school would possess greater warmth and sensitivity. Surely Shade is exaggerating and, either he or VN, wants us to know it.
Why? Intensification is one of the key, most frequent qualities of aesthetic experience if general. Exaggeration is, of course, a form of intensification, itself frequently used in spontaneous narrative, especially among fisherman (common folklore).
Shade is an intensified fictional figure who has a tendency to exaggerate.
~/gsl
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/