Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0013615, Sun, 15 Oct 2006 18:41:01 -0400

Subject
Nikto Botkin
From
Date
Body
It probably was Andrew Field who first noticed "Nikto" in Botkin in his
"VN" (1986, p. 346).

He thought that extra "b"["Nova Zembla, poor thing, with that B in her
bonnet" as VN wrote before] went to "Zembla"! (that would be a nice
Scrabble move). "Nabokov, of course, strongly denied all this," Field
wrote (!).

"Nikto b" was also already mentioned in NABOKOV-L rather long time ago
(see exchange below).

On the other hand, did anybody notice that "Nikto Botkin" ["Nobody
Botkin"] forms a perfect palindrome? You only have to substitute "V."
(Botkin's first name) for Nikto.
Or, if you wish Nikto to be the last name, make an anagram "B. NIKTO"
and, as a bonus, read "B." in Russian where it is of course "V."

There is a nice Botkin article on Zembla by Josh Kaplan,"A Delineation
of Botkin's Role in Pale Fire, & His Fate Beyond"
(http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/kaplan1.htm)

Victor Fet


****************************************************************
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 12:19:04 -0800

EDITOR's NOTE. Although Anatoly Vorobey's point (re "hyperexegesis") is
well-taken, the Botkin/Nikto(b) is not so far-fetched.
--------------------------------

From: Anatoly Vorobey
> KINBOT - BOTKIN - NIKTO B.(NIKTO - Russian word "nobody", B - ?)

> EDITOR's NOTE. Yes, it has been noted although not frequently. There
is a slight fly in the ointment in that in English the name is spelled
KINBOTE with an E at the end thus marring the anagram.

Hey, no worries. With KINBOTE, we get NIKTO E.B., which means of course
that Nabokov has inserted a hidden message for us telling that his
sister,
Elena Vladimirovna (V being B in Cyrillic) is a nobody (wish Nietzsche
did that with *his* sister!).

Nothing can stand in a way of someone who is determined to find
significance.

> It is a theme for reflections.

It is indeed.

--
Anatoly Vorobey,
mellon@pobox.com http://pobox.com/~mellon/

Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1999 11:40:52 -0800
Reply-To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Sender: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <[log in to unmask]>
From: Donald Barton Johnson <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Query: KINBOT-NIKTO B. (fwd)

EDITOR's NOTE. Yes, it has been noted although not frequently. There is
a slight fly in the ointment in that in English the name is spelled
KINBOTE with an E at the end thus marring the anagram.x

--------------- From:

Has it somewhere been remarked that the name of the main character of
the novel "Pale Fire", KINBOT is an anagram in which his name turns to
nought.

KINBOT - BOTKIN - NIKTO B.(NIKTO - Russian word "nobody", B - ?)

2 main characters - Shade (Whose?) and Botkin - Nikto B (Nobody B)

It is a theme for reflections.

Best regards, Sersak

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