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Re: from Ron Rosenbaum re "Pale Fire" & EDNote
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In response to Ron Rosenbaum's question, "Does anyone else believe Hazel Shade's ghost somehow dictated 'Pale Fire'?":
Of course not, and Brian Boyd never made such a silly claim. If you'll reread his "Nabokov's 'Pale Fire'," you'll see that he makes an ingenious case, well supported by textual evidence, that Hazel Shade's shade influences Kinbote's commentary in a number of complex and significant areas. Perhaps the best way to put it is to employ Boyd's phrase (on p. 168) -- Hazel "helps Kinbote dream" his dream of Zembla.
There is never any suggestion that Hazel has dictated anything. Boyd's argument, page after page, is always for influence and pattern-making, never ghostwriting. Do I believe in this interpretation? I certainly do. Anyone who doubts it needs to counter Boyd's textual points, case by case; he is not offering a hunch, but rather a sustained argument. I will add that there remain, in my opinion, important interpretative questions about "Pale Fire" that Boyd's book has not settled, but the presence of Hazel as a ghostly influence is not one of them. The case is simply too strong, and entirely in keeping with VN's literary and metaphysical preoccupations.
Best,
J. Morris
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Of course not, and Brian Boyd never made such a silly claim. If you'll reread his "Nabokov's 'Pale Fire'," you'll see that he makes an ingenious case, well supported by textual evidence, that Hazel Shade's shade influences Kinbote's commentary in a number of complex and significant areas. Perhaps the best way to put it is to employ Boyd's phrase (on p. 168) -- Hazel "helps Kinbote dream" his dream of Zembla.
There is never any suggestion that Hazel has dictated anything. Boyd's argument, page after page, is always for influence and pattern-making, never ghostwriting. Do I believe in this interpretation? I certainly do. Anyone who doubts it needs to counter Boyd's textual points, case by case; he is not offering a hunch, but rather a sustained argument. I will add that there remain, in my opinion, important interpretative questions about "Pale Fire" that Boyd's book has not settled, but the presence of Hazel as a ghostly influence is not one of them. The case is simply too strong, and entirely in keeping with VN's literary and metaphysical preoccupations.
Best,
J. Morris
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/