Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0013589, Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:29:22 -0400

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CK responds to SB on VN and William James
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[EDNOTE. I just realized that this message was forwarded to the List in
incomplete form. Sorry about that. -- SES]

>Nabokov would likely have gotten his first non-fiction taste of MPD
from William James's Principles of Psychology (1890), which he read at
12 or 13 (Wislon letters?). In that work MPD was called "the phenomenon
of alternating personality". Harvard UP, 1981, v. 1, pp 358-371
(followed by "mediumships or possessions"). James includes mostly
references to the work of Pierre Janet--whom someone else on the list
already meantioned in recent days.

Dear Stephen Blackwell,

More invaluable information. Especially since William James also was one
of the founders of the Psychical Research Society (surely that's not
right) in America. I had no idea he was also interested in the alternate
personality problem or that Nabokov had read this work, especially at
such an age! Fascinating.

Carolyn

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