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Re: Preparation H in Pale Fire (VN and linguistics)
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Stan Kelly-Bootle, unfortunately I´m unable to sufficiently profit from your
comments, but I´m certain that others will enjoy the complexity of your
answer. I´ll try to pick up a few threads,though.
According to you VN might have seen "words as direct, howbeit 'shadowy,'
links to an underpinning reality" and I was immediately reminded of the
cover of an edition of "The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov" ( Knopf) where the
letters comprising the name "Vladimir Nabokov" were pinned like butterflies
on paper and cast long shadows. Actually this was the first time I saw this
kind of non-cavelike shadow. I had not realized the cleverness of this
design until now...
There is a saying that "the dead cast no shadow" and I cannot but wish that
VN´s words and name are as alive as ever.
I read that Saussure kept a manuscript in a secret drawer in which he held
an opposing view to the one he put forth in his "Cours de Linguistique
Generale". Anyway, I tend to follow along Lacan´s work about the
arbitrariness of the links bt. signifier and signified. As I understand,
Lacan maintained that words could be employed both as imaginary means for
ordinary communication (such as in this message) and as signifiers when
case we would not be able to ascertain or underpin the meaning of an
author´s words but suffer under their impact.
( By the way, I´d prefer you exchanged the "JM initial formality"for a full
informal Jansy)
Jansy Mello
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comments, but I´m certain that others will enjoy the complexity of your
answer. I´ll try to pick up a few threads,though.
According to you VN might have seen "words as direct, howbeit 'shadowy,'
links to an underpinning reality" and I was immediately reminded of the
cover of an edition of "The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov" ( Knopf) where the
letters comprising the name "Vladimir Nabokov" were pinned like butterflies
on paper and cast long shadows. Actually this was the first time I saw this
kind of non-cavelike shadow. I had not realized the cleverness of this
design until now...
There is a saying that "the dead cast no shadow" and I cannot but wish that
VN´s words and name are as alive as ever.
I read that Saussure kept a manuscript in a secret drawer in which he held
an opposing view to the one he put forth in his "Cours de Linguistique
Generale". Anyway, I tend to follow along Lacan´s work about the
arbitrariness of the links bt. signifier and signified. As I understand,
Lacan maintained that words could be employed both as imaginary means for
ordinary communication (such as in this message) and as signifiers when
case we would not be able to ascertain or underpin the meaning of an
author´s words but suffer under their impact.
( By the way, I´d prefer you exchanged the "JM initial formality"for a full
informal Jansy)
Jansy Mello
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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