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Fw: [NABOKV-L] [CORRECTIONS]
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There were many mistakes in my " Birthdates and calendars" posting and I wish to bring up a few of them although I run the risk of making it get even worse:
1.Kinbote didn't describe himself as the moon "circling" the sun when he wrote "caught myself borrowing a kind of opalescent light from my poet's fiery orb."
Although he concretely orbited the poet's house ( he banged against garbage cans once), at night his movements quite often were restricted to the windows which he could use, or watch. Besides, the radiance of the moon is not a direct result of the fiery sun, is it?
2. The sentence "against the pale ink of the zenith, mentioned at nightfall, suggests that at that moment imaginary Gradus might have seen "something pale" marking that imaginary place.
Kinbote informed us about the exact day, month and year, also Gradus' location. It might not be too difficult to discover if it could have been the moon.
If not the moon, what could it be?
3.Seeing Kinbote as "a moon" ( and a lunatic to boot) when the entire book, and Shade's poem in particular, are "Pale Fire", was incorrect.
We also read about day and night [there's even Dr. Nattochdag, head of the department to which CK "was attached"; "Nattochdag (whom I saw every day in his office)"; "good old Nattochdag (whom I continued to see every day)"; that distinguished Zemblan scholar Oscar Nattochdag"], and the movements of the sun over windows and gardens.
Might Nabokov have somehow indicated his authorial place ( at the zenith?) by a peculiar geometrical arrangement of sun, moon and orbiting planet?
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