-------- Original Message --------
JF wrote: "Kinbote's sporadic awareness that he's somehow connected to
Botkin may be psychologically strange, but I think it's fine for
fiction."
Jerry's observation (the psychological strangeness of Botkin's
condition) has been too rarely acknowledged. The Index, written by
Kinbote, seems to reveal not only that Kinbote actually is Botkin, but
that Kinbote knows that he actually is Botkin. While a lot of critical
ink has been spilled investigating the first revelation, it seem to me
that the latter revelation is the more complex and interesting one.
Unfortunately, I think it does some damage to the novel. If Kinbote
knows that he is a delusion--knows it to the extent that he can reveal
the truth in his Index--then he is not a delusion at all. Instead, he
is nothing but a brilliant indulgence, a daydream of V. Botkin, who may
be strange, but is not insane. For in order to be considered an
alternate personality, the personality must believe in its own reality;
personalities may be acquainted with other personalities, but they do
not, to my knowledge, consider themselves less real than those other
personalities. I don'!
t think we can get away with saying that Kinbote knows he is "somehow
connected" to Botkin. The Index makes it very clear that he IS Botkin,
and Kinbote must have known it when he wrote the entry. I suppose one
could argue that he only came to the revelation while he was writing
the Index, but there isn't any internal evidence to support that
conclusion. Instead, we are left with the uncomfortable notion that
Kinbote is just a pseudonym and Botkin is, as Shade is made to hint, a
fellow poet, rather than VN's "madman." So here I think the logic of
the novel departs from VN's intention. How, then, should we interpret
the text--according to VN's intention (Botkin really is insane and
Kinbote really believes in Zembla) or according to the text alone
(Botkin knows, wishful thinking aside, that he is real and Kinbote is a
fantasy). My readerly principles tell me I should stick to the text
alone, but in practice I find myself acceding to the former choice,
while considering the Bo!
tkin/Kinbote relationship a flaw in the overall design of the novel.
Matt Roth
I just thought of one other option: Kinbote believes that he is real
and Botkin is his daydream. That is, in New Wye Kinbote sometimes goes
around calling himself V. Botkin. But this possibility goes against
VN's own comment that Botkin stands behind Kinbote, rather than
vice-versa.