Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0010551, Tue, 9 Nov 2004 10:59:09 -0800

Subject
Re: Fwd: Re: Cervantes. Chivalry
Date
Body
Dear Don, I could only find one reference to El Cid in Lolita, but I
remember scattered references to him along the text ( and maybe to Ximena,
Chimène ). I also must correct my atrribution of the French text on El Cid
to Ronsard, it was Corneille´s.

Lolita, I, ch. 19 ( Penguin, pag 223)
"As expected, poor Poet stumbled in Scene III when arriving at the bit of
French nonsense. Remember? Ne manque pas de dire à ton amant, Chimène,
comme le lac est beau car il faut qu´il t´y mène. Lucky beau! Qu´il t´y -
What a tongue twister!"

Appel cites in his note 223/1 " a parody of the classical alexandrine verse
of seventeenth-century France, specifically of Le Cid ( 1636) by Pierre
Corneille (...) Chimène is from Le Cid but the line itself is invented.

In Lolita there are other "chivalrous" references to Tristam ( and Iseult )
and to Lohengrin ( Swann Prince, as in the joke from LID, here as a marble
statue at the entrance of The Enchanted Hunters ).
I also remember various entrances by VN ( probably in Ada ) about "La Carte
du Tendre".

----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 2:12 PM
Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Cervantes & Shakespeare p.s.


Hello, Miriam

I have found several references in LOLITA to " El Cid" ( Ronsard´s, I
suppose) but they are not easy to trace since sometimes there is a line from
El Cid in the middle of an apparently ordinary and unrelated sentence, or
the name of his Lady that appears almost disconnected from the rest of the
text.

I´ve also been wondering if one of the names for the marsh marigold which
has been was left out while at the same time VN offered lots of synonims for
them in ADA ( I mean: "Kingcup") could not be a pointer to any Grail myth.
Jansy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 8:49 PM
Subject: Fwd: Re: Cervantes & Shakespeare p.s.


> On the topic of Cervantes, I am looking for any articles that identify a
> chivalry theme in Nabokov's novels. I have heard that a study was done
> on chivalry in The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, but I have had trouble
> finding it. Any assistance along those lines would be helpful.
>
> Miriam
>
>
> On Wednesday, November 3, 2004, at 11:08 AM, Donald B. Johnson wrote:
>
> > 1582 for the Gregorian shift in Catholic countries, but not till 1752 in
> > England. Read Thomas Pynchon's "Mason and Dixon" for a fantastic
> > chapter set
> > in the "skipped" days of 1752.
> >
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
>

----- End forwarded message -----

----- End forwarded message -----