Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0026734, Wed, 23 Dec 2015 13:33:26 -0600

Subject
Re: QUERY: Lolita: [C]harlotte's "maroon slacks,
yellow silk blouse"
Date
Body
My mind always turns to lepidoptera when colors are brought to view in
Nabokov. In my reading and teaching of the novel I have always called upon
the holarctic (found in Massachusetts in the main) butterly *nymphalis
antiopa*, vulgarly known as the "Mourning Cloak," along with the pother
excellent notes already given by other subscribers. Makes a good deal
of gisty sense for Charlotte. And leads to a thread on the Theban
princess, raped by Zeus in the guise of satyr. If Nabokov is Zeus, and HH
the satyr (and he knows he is to adore nymphets), then...

On Wed, Dec 23, 2015 at 12:56 PM, Hyman, Eric <ehyman@uncfsu.edu> wrote:

> It might be simple formal symmetry (beginning=end). Or the same clothes
> are parentheses to her life (that is, her life with HH). And let us always
> recall that HH is a not-quite reliable narrator, who has a habit of
> imposing his own patternings on the females he encounters.
>
>
>
> Eric Hyman
>
> Professor of English
>
> Department of English
>
> Butler 133
>
> Fayetteville State University
>
> 1200 Murchison Road
>
> Fayetteville, NC 28301-4252
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> (910) 672-1901
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> ehyman@uncfsu.edu
>
>
>
> *From:* Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] *On
> Behalf Of *Sadie Powers
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 22, 2015 9:28 PM
> *To:* NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> *Subject:* Re: [NABOKV-L] QUERY: Lolita: harlotte's "maroon slacks,
> yellow silk blouse"
>
>
>
> My take on the maroon pants is it being a pun, as Humbert has basically
> marooned Charlotte below the waist in a loveless marriage.
>
>
> On Dec 22, 2015, at 9:09 PM, "NABOKV-L, English" <nabokv-l@HOLYCROSS.EDU>
> wrote:
>
> My first response is that those colors are a garish combination,
> suggesting again Charlotte's vulgarity.
>
>
>
> SES
>
>
>
> .
>
>
> ​Didier Machu: “...I have a query regarding Lolita. On that fateful day
> when Charlotte is killed, .Humbert remarks that she is wearing "the yellow
> blouse and maroon slacks she had on when [he] first met her." Indeed
> "maroon slacks, yellow silk blouse" appear to him in that order when she
> comes down the stairs to greet her lodger-to-be. Why is she dressed
> identically on the first and last days of their shared life? Why is she
> made to wear those particular colors? I have been considering several
> explanations (none of which quite satisfies me) and would like to hear you
> all on the matter. Thanks.”
> ​
>
>
> --
>
> Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
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--
Malynne Sternstein
Associate Professor
Slavic and the College
University of Chicago

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