exile abounds in VN's writing...most of his Russian characters are ex-pats, the dream of a nobleman to see buckwheat in bloom inspires the young man in glory,all of the nostalgia and dreams of the past, are about losing one's beloved home( and past).


-----Original Message-----
From: Carolyn Kunin <chaiselongue@ATT.NET>
To: NABOKV-L <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Fri, Jun 14, 2013 12:05 pm
Subject: [NABOKV-L] reply to Jansy re metamorphoses

Jansy will appreciate that the original Cupid and Psyche story appeared first in Apuleius's odd novel (a new translation gets a starred review in the current TLS) usually called "The Golden Ass(e)", but properly called the Metamorphosis. 

Speaking of TLS, in the May 17 issue there was quite a wealth of articles dealing with Russian literature, especially the under appreciated Leskov; Propp on Russian folklore and a book entitled "Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov." Oh, and also a review of Collected Poems by one Vladimir Nabokv; edited by Thomas Karshan. 

But back to various metamophoses and their relations to Nabokov - the entomological use of the term is fairly obvious, but could one not also say that it is the (long e) overarching theme in all of Nabokov's work? or is that going too too far? My favorite novel PF is, if my Jekyll and Hyde interpretation has any validity, a tale of metamorphosis. Lolita, Nabokov's own darling, undergoes a metamorphosis from lovely nymphet to humdrum moth at the end of the novel. Well, those are the two I know best. The Kafka Metamorphosis, referred to by Jansy, was beloved of VN one assumes both entomologically and literarily. I can't recall now - any references to Ovid's M in VN? 

Ovid like Dante and VN suffered exile, but I don't recall any Nabokovian references to that either. Some of us will recall that Dmitri used the Dantean Can Grande in his email address to refer to that man's exile and the family connection of which he and his father were both proud.

Carolyn


From: Jansy <jansy@AETERN.US>
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Thu, June 13, 2013 7:23:37 PM
Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] Harlequin Jaloux


Carolyn Kunin: [to A.Sklyarenko] This is all very interesting but how is it possible that, as you write in your btw, that Sirin published Petersburg (or anything else for that matter) in 1913?
 
Jansy Mello: The chronologies and twists in LATH must open the way for this kind of envious invention for, as he himself admits it in his lectures on literature, for Nabokov Bely's St. Petersburg  is "regarded as one of the four greatest masterpieces of twentieth century prose, after Ulysses and The Metamorphosis and before In Search of Lost Time " (wiki):
Google Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal" Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options Visit AdaOnline View NSJ Ada Annotations Temporary L-Soft Search the archive
All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.
Google Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal" Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options Visit AdaOnline View NSJ Ada Annotations Temporary L-Soft Search the archive

All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.