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Re: Green Door
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I agree with Sam Schuman that this is a curious thread (to which he has added the use of the term “green room” in theatrical parlance). Curious or not, it’s perhaps worth noting that the most significant mention of the color green in Pale Fire is surely in the following passage (commentary to line 172), in which Kinbote is setting forth some of Shade’s opinions:
Of students' papers: "I am generally very benevolent [said Shade]. But there are certain trifles I do not forgive." Kinbote: "For instance?" "Not having read the required book. Having read it like an idiot. Looking in it for symbols; example: 'The author uses the striking image green leaves because green is the symbol of happiness and frustration.'
We should bear this in mind before making too much of the green doors in the book. If the color green has a special meaning in the novel, it is surely its association with Gerald Emerald. But of the green doors, was it VN or SF who said that sometimes green is just a color and a door is just a door?
The cultural history of The Green Door, as set forth in the Wikipedia article and supplemented by various members of the List, is nonetheless fascinating. And the YouTube video that Steve Diedrich put us on to is very much worth a look and a listen.
Jim Twiggs
________________________________
From: Samuel Schuman <sschuman@UNCA.EDU>
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Wed, March 3, 2010 2:08:58 PM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Green Door
This is one of the more "curious" threads in the life of the list. Perhaps it is worth adding that the "green door" in Pale Fire seems to lead to that area of the theater building known as the "green room," a place where actors wait for their cues.
--
Sam
Dr. Samuel Schuman
sschuman@unca.edu
828-258-3621
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Of students' papers: "I am generally very benevolent [said Shade]. But there are certain trifles I do not forgive." Kinbote: "For instance?" "Not having read the required book. Having read it like an idiot. Looking in it for symbols; example: 'The author uses the striking image green leaves because green is the symbol of happiness and frustration.'
We should bear this in mind before making too much of the green doors in the book. If the color green has a special meaning in the novel, it is surely its association with Gerald Emerald. But of the green doors, was it VN or SF who said that sometimes green is just a color and a door is just a door?
The cultural history of The Green Door, as set forth in the Wikipedia article and supplemented by various members of the List, is nonetheless fascinating. And the YouTube video that Steve Diedrich put us on to is very much worth a look and a listen.
Jim Twiggs
________________________________
From: Samuel Schuman <sschuman@UNCA.EDU>
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Wed, March 3, 2010 2:08:58 PM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Green Door
This is one of the more "curious" threads in the life of the list. Perhaps it is worth adding that the "green door" in Pale Fire seems to lead to that area of the theater building known as the "green room," a place where actors wait for their cues.
--
Sam
Dr. Samuel Schuman
sschuman@unca.edu
828-258-3621
Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal"
Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options
All private editorial communications, without
exception, are
read by both co-editors.
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
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Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/