Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0016697, Wed, 9 Jul 2008 14:23:06 -0300

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Re: THOUGHTS: Shade's Mockingbird
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Matt wrote: As you may have guessed, I believe that this is no mere coincidence, and I likewise believe that it supports a reading of the novel wherein there is some kind of unnatural relationship (active or passive) between John Shade and Hazel. In Ovid, it is very clear that Tereus's relationship with Philomel is seen as a form of incest, and the father's devouring of his child is simply an alimentary form of incest.
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A Freudian "Oedipal" story is hinted at through Kinbote's comments to Line 57: The phantom of my little daughter's swing.
He wrote: After this Shade crossed out lightly the following lines in the draft:

The light is good; the reading lamps, long-necked;

All doors have keys. Your modern architect

Is in collusion with psychanalysts:

When planning parents' bedrooms, he insists

On lockless doors so that, when looking back,

The future patient of the future quack

May find, all set for him, the Primal Scene.



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