Subject
[Fwd: Nabokov and Holmes]
From
Date
Body
EDITOR'S NOTE. A quick check of the NABOKV-L archive show 6 refs to
Sherlock. I recall several notes on the matter in other sources. SEE
http://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?S2=nabokv-l&q=Sherlock+Holmes&s=&f=&a=&b=
Try a search of the Zimmer/Edmunds article bibliograpy on ZEMBLA as
wellzembla <http://www.libraries.psu.edu/iasweb/nabokov/nsintro.htm>
------------------------------------------------
From: redjames@commie.co.uk
Dear All,
I'm probably not the first person to think about this (and I suppose
part of the reason in writing to you is to get you to tell me who else
has thought about it), but has anyone given any detailed consideration
to the relationship between Nabokov's works and Conan Doyle's Sherlock
Holmes stories? This of course runs the risk of becoming an unwittingly
patronising question, as people will no doubt inform me, politely, but
briskly, that the Humbert/Holmes nexus, for example, is a fundamental
point of Nabokov studies, but please forgive an amateur enquiry.
My attention was attracted by the following moment -
'"Mais qui est-ce?" I shouted at last, striking her on the knee with my
fist; and she, without even wincing, stared at me as if the answer were
too simple for words, then gave a quick shrug and pointed at the thick
neck of the taxi driver. He pulled up at a small cafe and introduced
himself' - Lolita
'"Very good, very good," said Holmes, smiling. "The cabman may as well
help me with my boxes. Just ask him to step up, Wiggins."
I was surprised to find my companion speaking as though he were about to
set out on a journey, since he had not said anything to me about it.
There was a small poprtmanteau in the room, and this he pulled out and
began to strap. He was busily engaged at it when the cabman entered the
room.
"Just give me a help with this buckle, cabman," he said, kneeling over
his task, and never turning his head.
The fellow came forward with a somewhat sullen, defiant air and put down
his hands to assist. At that instant there was a sharp click, the
jangling of metal, and Sherlock Holmes sprang to his feet again.
"Gentlemen," he cried, with flashing eyes, "let me introduce you to Mr
Jefferson Hope, the murderer of Enoch Drebber and of Joseph Stangerson."
- A Study in Scarlet
- which suggest a deliberate echoing by Nabokov of Conan Doyle, and
serves (beautifully and subtly, of course) by putting Humbert in the
position of the confused Watson ('too simple for words' hints at the
teacher/pupil relationship between Holmes and Watson - cf. their
exchanges at the beginning of many of the short stories) to help with
the undermining of Humbert's self-image which Nabokov makes throughout
the book.
However, it would be interesting to know how far such parallels extend,
and the use to which Nabokov put Conan Doyle's work. Any
comments(elementary or otherwise) would be very welcome.
Yours,
James Womack
----------------------.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
20 email addresses from 15,000 domain names - free at
http://www.another.com
Sherlock. I recall several notes on the matter in other sources. SEE
http://listserv.ucsb.edu/lsv-cgi-bin/wa?S2=nabokv-l&q=Sherlock+Holmes&s=&f=&a=&b=
Try a search of the Zimmer/Edmunds article bibliograpy on ZEMBLA as
wellzembla <http://www.libraries.psu.edu/iasweb/nabokov/nsintro.htm>
------------------------------------------------
From: redjames@commie.co.uk
Dear All,
I'm probably not the first person to think about this (and I suppose
part of the reason in writing to you is to get you to tell me who else
has thought about it), but has anyone given any detailed consideration
to the relationship between Nabokov's works and Conan Doyle's Sherlock
Holmes stories? This of course runs the risk of becoming an unwittingly
patronising question, as people will no doubt inform me, politely, but
briskly, that the Humbert/Holmes nexus, for example, is a fundamental
point of Nabokov studies, but please forgive an amateur enquiry.
My attention was attracted by the following moment -
'"Mais qui est-ce?" I shouted at last, striking her on the knee with my
fist; and she, without even wincing, stared at me as if the answer were
too simple for words, then gave a quick shrug and pointed at the thick
neck of the taxi driver. He pulled up at a small cafe and introduced
himself' - Lolita
'"Very good, very good," said Holmes, smiling. "The cabman may as well
help me with my boxes. Just ask him to step up, Wiggins."
I was surprised to find my companion speaking as though he were about to
set out on a journey, since he had not said anything to me about it.
There was a small poprtmanteau in the room, and this he pulled out and
began to strap. He was busily engaged at it when the cabman entered the
room.
"Just give me a help with this buckle, cabman," he said, kneeling over
his task, and never turning his head.
The fellow came forward with a somewhat sullen, defiant air and put down
his hands to assist. At that instant there was a sharp click, the
jangling of metal, and Sherlock Holmes sprang to his feet again.
"Gentlemen," he cried, with flashing eyes, "let me introduce you to Mr
Jefferson Hope, the murderer of Enoch Drebber and of Joseph Stangerson."
- A Study in Scarlet
- which suggest a deliberate echoing by Nabokov of Conan Doyle, and
serves (beautifully and subtly, of course) by putting Humbert in the
position of the confused Watson ('too simple for words' hints at the
teacher/pupil relationship between Holmes and Watson - cf. their
exchanges at the beginning of many of the short stories) to help with
the undermining of Humbert's self-image which Nabokov makes throughout
the book.
However, it would be interesting to know how far such parallels extend,
and the use to which Nabokov put Conan Doyle's work. Any
comments(elementary or otherwise) would be very welcome.
Yours,
James Womack
----------------------.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
20 email addresses from 15,000 domain names - free at
http://www.another.com