Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0012106, Sun, 20 Nov 2005 19:22:46 -0800

Subject
Re: Fwd: HH's age
Date
Body
Dear Peter and All,

Leopold Bloom was 38 in 1904 (cf. "16 years before in 1888 when Bloom was of
Stephen's present age Stephen was 6", p. 640 in the Bodley Head edition).
You might have thought of Joyce himself, who saw ULYSSES published in the
book form on his 40th birthday in February 1922. Milo O'Shea who played
Bloom in Joseph Strick's film adaptation (1967) looked in his forties and
was actually 41. But of course this is nothing like a 53-year-old Mason
playing a 37-year-old Humbert.

Yours mathematically,
Sergey

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On Behalf
> Of Donald B. Johnson
> Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2005 8:10 PM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Re: Fwd: HH's age
>
> I rather *would* forget Mrs Dalloway myself, frankly. James Bond was
> 37 yo in Fleming's Casino Royale. How old was Leopold Bloom?
> 40, wasn't he--one would have said 50 or more and that he
> was a dirty old man, too.
> -
> Peter Hayes
>
>
>
> >Another exception to this rule is J.R.Tolkien - his heros' adventures
> begin
> >only when they reach the ripe age of 50...
> >And let's not forget Mrs.Dalloway. I'm sure there are more examples.
> >IK
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
> >To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> >Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 4:50 PM
> >Subject: Re: Fwd: HH's age
> >
> >
> >> Dear Don and List
> >>
> >> When I first read Lolita I was half again as old as Lo, and HH was
> twice
> >> my age; I had him firmly pegged as a dirty old man, two years older
> than
> >> my father.
> >>
> >> In Alison Lurie's "Foreign Affairs" the fifty-something heroine muses
> on
> >> the ages of fictional characters. To be a principal you must be young;
> in
> >> literature there are no heroes or heroines aged 35-plus. Anything older
> >> than that is a a perry, a walk-on, a supporting role, a character part.
> >> The cruellest stage review I ever read was by Beryl Bainbridge -- no
> >> spring chicken herself -- who wrote that Maggie Smith was "too old to
> be
> >> considered female".
> >>
> >> Does VN consistently break the "ageist" tradition in fiction? I can
> think
> >> straight away of my good friend John Shade.
> >>
> >> Best,
> >>
> >> Tom (Rymour)
> >>
> >> ----- End forwarded message -----
> >
> >----- End forwarded message -----
> >
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----

----- End forwarded message -----