Subject
RES: [NABOKV-L] from Ron Rosenbaum re VN's own words about the
<Pale Fire> narrator]]
<Pale Fire> narrator]]
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Simon Rowberry: Concerning Nabokov's own words on Pale Fire. we are left
with two main options as to the meaning of this shift in his interpretation
(interpretation, I would stress, is the key word here. There is no correct
'solution' to the novel, as it is not an empirical problem but a work of
art, only interpretations).[.] the novel showed hidden depths that Nabokov
had not considered, which led to these contradictory statements.The fact
that Pale Fire veered out of Nabokov's control is not undesirable, however,
as it has allowed the novel to remain exciting and relevant to this day,
with new theories being developed regularly, even if one will inevitably
disagree with at least half of them. the novel has arguably developed into a
more organic novel, than the sterile artifact it would have become if
Nabokov's statements would have become canon.
Clayton Smith: "I was confused, as perhaps other readers were, on how point
3 supported a Shadean reading. To understand one needs the actual deleted
quote, which I trust some may find useful:"As John Shade says somewhere://
Nobody will heed my index,//I suppose,//But through it a gentle wind
ex//Ponto blows."
JM: In the printed, easily available foreword we can read: "Through the
window of that index// climbs a rose// And sometimes a gentle wind ex//Ponto
blows." (Montreux, January 5,1966).
I fully agree with Simon Rowberry's considerations that "there is no correct
'solution'.only interpretations" and that the novel "developed into a more
organic novel" and "Pale Fire veered out of Nabokov's control."
At first I thought that Simon was alluding to the idea that everybody
usually says more than is consciously intended (Nabokov once stated that
even a phone number can be revelatory, flap its wings and escape.), or that
language (the signifier) holds more mysteries than we give it credit for.
However, as a matter of interpretation, one can also read into his
assessment the recognition of a more esoteric element (rendered through a
"plexed artistry" and exceeding it.).
Although I seem to remember sentences where Nabokov denies any similarity
between Zembla and Russia in Strong Opinions, as a metaphor of what he feels
towards his childhood home and infant fantasies, Zembla seems to fit in
perfectly with the importance he will ascribe to "the index" and to the
gentle winds that reach him at his an "ex ponto" exile. We should remember
that "index" means a finger, a pointing finger. Perhaps the fascination with
the novel Pale Fire (more than with the poem) arises by a special feeling of
something "real" (true) that it may hold and convey. It lies beyond the
issue of fictional or even actual "authorship."
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with two main options as to the meaning of this shift in his interpretation
(interpretation, I would stress, is the key word here. There is no correct
'solution' to the novel, as it is not an empirical problem but a work of
art, only interpretations).[.] the novel showed hidden depths that Nabokov
had not considered, which led to these contradictory statements.The fact
that Pale Fire veered out of Nabokov's control is not undesirable, however,
as it has allowed the novel to remain exciting and relevant to this day,
with new theories being developed regularly, even if one will inevitably
disagree with at least half of them. the novel has arguably developed into a
more organic novel, than the sterile artifact it would have become if
Nabokov's statements would have become canon.
Clayton Smith: "I was confused, as perhaps other readers were, on how point
3 supported a Shadean reading. To understand one needs the actual deleted
quote, which I trust some may find useful:"As John Shade says somewhere://
Nobody will heed my index,//I suppose,//But through it a gentle wind
ex//Ponto blows."
JM: In the printed, easily available foreword we can read: "Through the
window of that index// climbs a rose// And sometimes a gentle wind ex//Ponto
blows." (Montreux, January 5,1966).
I fully agree with Simon Rowberry's considerations that "there is no correct
'solution'.only interpretations" and that the novel "developed into a more
organic novel" and "Pale Fire veered out of Nabokov's control."
At first I thought that Simon was alluding to the idea that everybody
usually says more than is consciously intended (Nabokov once stated that
even a phone number can be revelatory, flap its wings and escape.), or that
language (the signifier) holds more mysteries than we give it credit for.
However, as a matter of interpretation, one can also read into his
assessment the recognition of a more esoteric element (rendered through a
"plexed artistry" and exceeding it.).
Although I seem to remember sentences where Nabokov denies any similarity
between Zembla and Russia in Strong Opinions, as a metaphor of what he feels
towards his childhood home and infant fantasies, Zembla seems to fit in
perfectly with the importance he will ascribe to "the index" and to the
gentle winds that reach him at his an "ex ponto" exile. We should remember
that "index" means a finger, a pointing finger. Perhaps the fascination with
the novel Pale Fire (more than with the poem) arises by a special feeling of
something "real" (true) that it may hold and convey. It lies beyond the
issue of fictional or even actual "authorship."
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/