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"NATASHA": another short-story discussion?
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Dear List,
I propose that we have another discussion -- but less formally structured this time -- of "Natasha," the 1924 story that has just been translated by Dmitri Nabokov and published in the New Yorker. Here again, as in recent posts from Sandy Klein, is a link to an online version of the story:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/06/09/080609fi_fiction_nabokov
And here are a few possible questions to consider:
- What is especially Nabokovian about this story?
- How does it foreshadow his subsequent work?
- What is unusual or distinctive about it within his oeuvre?
I myself was struck by the fact that VN decided not to narrate this story (whether in first or third person) from Wolfe's point of view, which is the kind of choice he has made in many other instances. Instead, much of the story is told (with a third-person limited omniscient narrator) from Natasha's own perspective. It's unusual for Nabokov to make a female character the center of consciousness in a story, particularly when the plot emphasizes her desirability.
SES
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Co-Editor, NABOKV-L
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Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
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Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
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I propose that we have another discussion -- but less formally structured this time -- of "Natasha," the 1924 story that has just been translated by Dmitri Nabokov and published in the New Yorker. Here again, as in recent posts from Sandy Klein, is a link to an online version of the story:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/06/09/080609fi_fiction_nabokov
And here are a few possible questions to consider:
- What is especially Nabokovian about this story?
- How does it foreshadow his subsequent work?
- What is unusual or distinctive about it within his oeuvre?
I myself was struck by the fact that VN decided not to narrate this story (whether in first or third person) from Wolfe's point of view, which is the kind of choice he has made in many other instances. Instead, much of the story is told (with a third-person limited omniscient narrator) from Natasha's own perspective. It's unusual for Nabokov to make a female character the center of consciousness in a story, particularly when the plot emphasizes her desirability.
SES
Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Co-Editor, NABOKV-L
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/