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Re: Parental theory and dabbling in séances
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Dear Carolyn,
Spiritualism was an enormous fad all over Europe and within the upper
classes of Russia throughout the 19nth century, following the ³creation² or
³invention² of spiritualism by the American Fox (Foxe?) sisters. An
immensely gifted European illusionist called something like David Home or
Daniel Hone, held séances for royals and rich folks in general at which he
supposedly put them in touch with dead relatives through such decisive and
doubt-destroying means as spewing ectoplasm and having the interred
relatives come back to touch the faces of the bereaved and gullible. I know
I would certainly feel comforted if one of my dead relatives came and rubbed
my face.
The Foxe (Fox?) sisters ultimately confessed that the knocking noises that
arose in their rooms were caused by one of the sisters cracking a toe joint
(and God saw to it that she suffered dreadfully from arthritis all her
days). Home (Hone?), if I have that name right, was also exposed. I always
thought he should have been credited as one of the great illusionists of his
day. Perhaps he has been.
All this is just to say that it¹s no surprise that the Nabokov¹s played at
holding séances. It was more popular than Monopoly. More genteel than
Twister. I don¹t want to jump on Mr. Field, but he has made himself
notorious for finding a sinister meaning behind every activity the Nabokovs
ever engaged in.
Andrew Brown
On 11/5/06 12:37 PM, "NABOKV-L" <NABOKV-L@HOLYCROSS.EDU> wrote:
> To the List,
>
> I am not pushing this "theory" because I have my doubts about it. But I was
> able to find the probable source of my belief that mysticism/spiritualism was
> a bone of contention in the Nabokov family.
>
> In Field's "Life and Art" biography (p 31) he writes that VN's mother had been
> dabbling in seances in which the young Kyril was apparently acting as medium
> in some way,
>
> ... until her husband finally put his foot down; "No more seances! That's
> enough!"
>
> Carolyn
>
> p.s. Presumably this information came from Field's discussions with VN as no
> other source is provided.
>
> Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
> 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
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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
Spiritualism was an enormous fad all over Europe and within the upper
classes of Russia throughout the 19nth century, following the ³creation² or
³invention² of spiritualism by the American Fox (Foxe?) sisters. An
immensely gifted European illusionist called something like David Home or
Daniel Hone, held séances for royals and rich folks in general at which he
supposedly put them in touch with dead relatives through such decisive and
doubt-destroying means as spewing ectoplasm and having the interred
relatives come back to touch the faces of the bereaved and gullible. I know
I would certainly feel comforted if one of my dead relatives came and rubbed
my face.
The Foxe (Fox?) sisters ultimately confessed that the knocking noises that
arose in their rooms were caused by one of the sisters cracking a toe joint
(and God saw to it that she suffered dreadfully from arthritis all her
days). Home (Hone?), if I have that name right, was also exposed. I always
thought he should have been credited as one of the great illusionists of his
day. Perhaps he has been.
All this is just to say that it¹s no surprise that the Nabokov¹s played at
holding séances. It was more popular than Monopoly. More genteel than
Twister. I don¹t want to jump on Mr. Field, but he has made himself
notorious for finding a sinister meaning behind every activity the Nabokovs
ever engaged in.
Andrew Brown
On 11/5/06 12:37 PM, "NABOKV-L" <NABOKV-L@HOLYCROSS.EDU> wrote:
> To the List,
>
> I am not pushing this "theory" because I have my doubts about it. But I was
> able to find the probable source of my belief that mysticism/spiritualism was
> a bone of contention in the Nabokov family.
>
> In Field's "Life and Art" biography (p 31) he writes that VN's mother had been
> dabbling in seances in which the young Kyril was apparently acting as medium
> in some way,
>
> ... until her husband finally put his foot down; "No more seances! That's
> enough!"
>
> Carolyn
>
> p.s. Presumably this information came from Field's discussions with VN as no
> other source is provided.
>
> Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
> 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
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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