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----- Original Message -----
From: "Carolyn Kunin" <chaiselongue@earthlink.net>
To: <NABOKV-L@listserv.ucsb.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 2:34 PM
Subject: Alternate Interpretation of Pale Fire
> This message was originally submitted by chaiselongue@EARTHLINK.NET to
the
> NABOKV-L list at LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU. If you simply forward it back to the
list,
> using a mail command that generates "Resent-" fields (ask your local
user
> support or consult the documentation of your mail program if in doubt), it
will
> be distributed and the explanations you are now reading will be
removed
> automatically. If on the other hand you edit the contributions you receive
into
> a digest, you will have to remove this paragraph manually. Finally, you
should
> be able to contact the author of this message by using the normal
"reply"
> function of your mail program.
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (97
lines) ------------------
> To the members of the Nabokov list,
>
> I would like to suggest that combatants BB and VNA consider an alternate
> interpretation of Pale Fire, which may moot some of the disagreement
between
> them: I have come to the conclusion that the novel Pale Fire is another,
> stranger case of Jekyll and Hyde (and Hyder). Shade, Kinbote and Gradus
are
> all the same person.
>
> If you read the novel suspecting this, some discrepancies begin to clear
up.
> The intrusion of the Kinbote voice into the Shade poem and the Shadey
dream
> in which Kinbote expresses toward Disa Shade's feelings for Sybil now
begin
> to make sense. Disa and Sybil are also one person. The birthdates are the
> primary clue; the pun of Shade and degree is the second (the many grays
> might make the reader think of Dorian Gray and note that Kinbote remains
an
> eternal adolescent while Shade ages and ages); and Kinbote's name, derived
> from the maiden name of Mrs Samuel Shade (Caroline Lukin) is the important
> third. Nabokov also makes an odd Jesuitical reference out of the middle
> names of Shade & Kinbote (Francis Xavier, not the only saint in the
novel).
>
> Once the reader suspects tht Shade, Kinbote and Gradus are not separate
> entities, he can begin to make out the plot of the novel which no one, so
> far as I know, has attempted:
>
> The Plot of the novel
>
> A young man has a traumatic sexual encounter (see lines 161-162)
apparently
> on his 16th birthday. His personality shatters into three shards: S, K &
G.
> The last two reject heterosexuality and sanity and are suppressed by S
> (exiled to the looking glass world of Zembla, where they continue on their
> merry ways). This allows the young man, John Shade, to lead an almost
normal
> life. His life is the subject of his last poem. The poem is also a rather
> deviously camouflaged confession, an acknowledgement of shame and remorse
> (perhaps explaining why "people" are always throwing St Augustine at
Shade).
>
> Shade, having reached the age of 60 has not been well. He has suffered
> (pseudo?) heart attacks (autoneuronylogically induced?) and his grip on
> reality begins to loosen. As S starts to weaken, K starts moving closer
into
> Shade's consciousness. K is at some point accepted as "a neighbor" with
whom
> Shade begins to interact. Understandably his wife is upset by some signs
> (drinking is at least one of them) she begins to see in her husband. Shade
> too is disturbed.
>
> Before he can finish his poem (Kinbote is right and wrong - there is no
line
> 1000, but line 999 leads the reader back to line 1 - in its beginning is
its
> end) Shade suffers a cerebral hemmorhage (see description of the poet
> looking like a "tipsy witch" in note to line 991). The stroke seems to
> recreate the near-death experience of his childhood and coincides with the
> appearance of a gardener who resembles the toy associated with that event.
>
> The word "stroke" first appears in Kinbotes note to "a clockwork toy"
(line
> 143) and the stroke itself is quite wonderfully and wildly described in
the
> following note (to line 149). Shade's Aunt Maud, remember, was similarly
> afflicted and Kinbote has been complaining of headaches. With Shade
> partially incapacitated, Kinbote and Shade struggle to complete the poem
> (teste the "Corrected Copy" of lines 949-999 with their "devastating
> erasures and cataclysmic insertions" as described in the Preface).
>
> Shade wins a pyrrhic victory in having the poem end on line 999, but now
> totally demented, is institutionalized. Unable to bear what has happened
to
> her husband, Sybil goes to live with family in Canada. One can only
imagine
> her pain. She attempts to communicate with her husband, suggesting two
> colleagues be allowed to publish his poem, but the maniac Kinbote has
other
> ideas.
>
>
> Shade/Kinbote (the King in his pajamas) manages to escape from the
hospital
> (note to line 130). Having completed the commentary, index and preface to
> his own poem, Kinbote may commit suicide, or Shade may die alone in a
> wretched motel room (poem lines 609-619) . Exit S, K & G.
>
> This is the plot I have discerned, but will not be surprised to find that
> others find others. But I do believe that the single identity of Shade,
> Kinbote and Gradus is the key to solving the riddle of the novel Pale
Fire.
>
> Major Literary References:
>
> Nabokov's primary literary reference is to RLS's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll
> and Mr Hyde (note that Shade is always "Mr" and Kinbote appends "Dr" to
his
> name in the index). Secondarily he refers to Wilde's "Portrait of Dorian
> Gray" and thirdly to Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass." Other
> references have already been thoroughly discussed.
>
> As he has stated somewhere, the author has posed his readers a chess
problem
> with a simple solution, mischievously intended to send readers to the ends
> of the earth on a wild goose chase - presumably that they should have an
> interesting trip and make the acquaintance of some very interesting birds.
>
> This is necessarily an oversimplification and my alternate interpretation
by
> no means solves all the riddles in the novel. Personally I suspect that
only
> two people, both now dead, will ever know all the answers.
>
> Am I on first, or have I struck out?
>
> Carolyn Kunin
>
> p.s. I almost forgot - who is Botkin? Answer: Nikto b'.
>
>
From: "Carolyn Kunin" <chaiselongue@earthlink.net>
To: <NABOKV-L@listserv.ucsb.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 2:34 PM
Subject: Alternate Interpretation of Pale Fire
> This message was originally submitted by chaiselongue@EARTHLINK.NET to
the
> NABOKV-L list at LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU. If you simply forward it back to the
list,
> using a mail command that generates "Resent-" fields (ask your local
user
> support or consult the documentation of your mail program if in doubt), it
will
> be distributed and the explanations you are now reading will be
removed
> automatically. If on the other hand you edit the contributions you receive
into
> a digest, you will have to remove this paragraph manually. Finally, you
should
> be able to contact the author of this message by using the normal
"reply"
> function of your mail program.
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (97
lines) ------------------
> To the members of the Nabokov list,
>
> I would like to suggest that combatants BB and VNA consider an alternate
> interpretation of Pale Fire, which may moot some of the disagreement
between
> them: I have come to the conclusion that the novel Pale Fire is another,
> stranger case of Jekyll and Hyde (and Hyder). Shade, Kinbote and Gradus
are
> all the same person.
>
> If you read the novel suspecting this, some discrepancies begin to clear
up.
> The intrusion of the Kinbote voice into the Shade poem and the Shadey
dream
> in which Kinbote expresses toward Disa Shade's feelings for Sybil now
begin
> to make sense. Disa and Sybil are also one person. The birthdates are the
> primary clue; the pun of Shade and degree is the second (the many grays
> might make the reader think of Dorian Gray and note that Kinbote remains
an
> eternal adolescent while Shade ages and ages); and Kinbote's name, derived
> from the maiden name of Mrs Samuel Shade (Caroline Lukin) is the important
> third. Nabokov also makes an odd Jesuitical reference out of the middle
> names of Shade & Kinbote (Francis Xavier, not the only saint in the
novel).
>
> Once the reader suspects tht Shade, Kinbote and Gradus are not separate
> entities, he can begin to make out the plot of the novel which no one, so
> far as I know, has attempted:
>
> The Plot of the novel
>
> A young man has a traumatic sexual encounter (see lines 161-162)
apparently
> on his 16th birthday. His personality shatters into three shards: S, K &
G.
> The last two reject heterosexuality and sanity and are suppressed by S
> (exiled to the looking glass world of Zembla, where they continue on their
> merry ways). This allows the young man, John Shade, to lead an almost
normal
> life. His life is the subject of his last poem. The poem is also a rather
> deviously camouflaged confession, an acknowledgement of shame and remorse
> (perhaps explaining why "people" are always throwing St Augustine at
Shade).
>
> Shade, having reached the age of 60 has not been well. He has suffered
> (pseudo?) heart attacks (autoneuronylogically induced?) and his grip on
> reality begins to loosen. As S starts to weaken, K starts moving closer
into
> Shade's consciousness. K is at some point accepted as "a neighbor" with
whom
> Shade begins to interact. Understandably his wife is upset by some signs
> (drinking is at least one of them) she begins to see in her husband. Shade
> too is disturbed.
>
> Before he can finish his poem (Kinbote is right and wrong - there is no
line
> 1000, but line 999 leads the reader back to line 1 - in its beginning is
its
> end) Shade suffers a cerebral hemmorhage (see description of the poet
> looking like a "tipsy witch" in note to line 991). The stroke seems to
> recreate the near-death experience of his childhood and coincides with the
> appearance of a gardener who resembles the toy associated with that event.
>
> The word "stroke" first appears in Kinbotes note to "a clockwork toy"
(line
> 143) and the stroke itself is quite wonderfully and wildly described in
the
> following note (to line 149). Shade's Aunt Maud, remember, was similarly
> afflicted and Kinbote has been complaining of headaches. With Shade
> partially incapacitated, Kinbote and Shade struggle to complete the poem
> (teste the "Corrected Copy" of lines 949-999 with their "devastating
> erasures and cataclysmic insertions" as described in the Preface).
>
> Shade wins a pyrrhic victory in having the poem end on line 999, but now
> totally demented, is institutionalized. Unable to bear what has happened
to
> her husband, Sybil goes to live with family in Canada. One can only
imagine
> her pain. She attempts to communicate with her husband, suggesting two
> colleagues be allowed to publish his poem, but the maniac Kinbote has
other
> ideas.
>
>
> Shade/Kinbote (the King in his pajamas) manages to escape from the
hospital
> (note to line 130). Having completed the commentary, index and preface to
> his own poem, Kinbote may commit suicide, or Shade may die alone in a
> wretched motel room (poem lines 609-619) . Exit S, K & G.
>
> This is the plot I have discerned, but will not be surprised to find that
> others find others. But I do believe that the single identity of Shade,
> Kinbote and Gradus is the key to solving the riddle of the novel Pale
Fire.
>
> Major Literary References:
>
> Nabokov's primary literary reference is to RLS's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll
> and Mr Hyde (note that Shade is always "Mr" and Kinbote appends "Dr" to
his
> name in the index). Secondarily he refers to Wilde's "Portrait of Dorian
> Gray" and thirdly to Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass." Other
> references have already been thoroughly discussed.
>
> As he has stated somewhere, the author has posed his readers a chess
problem
> with a simple solution, mischievously intended to send readers to the ends
> of the earth on a wild goose chase - presumably that they should have an
> interesting trip and make the acquaintance of some very interesting birds.
>
> This is necessarily an oversimplification and my alternate interpretation
by
> no means solves all the riddles in the novel. Personally I suspect that
only
> two people, both now dead, will ever know all the answers.
>
> Am I on first, or have I struck out?
>
> Carolyn Kunin
>
> p.s. I almost forgot - who is Botkin? Answer: Nikto b'.
>
>