Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0017728, Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:00:26 -0300

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Re: [NABOKOV-L] Sighting (celadon eyes; light of my life)
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Re: [NABOKV-L] [NABOKOV-L] Sighting (celadon eyes; light of my life)SKB: I agree that such allusions/sightings add to our sheer reading pleasure. What I find boring about much of my non-Nabokov-fiction reading is the absence of "lexical challenge." But I must say that "celadan eyes" are more intriguing than the almost commonplace idiom "light of my life." The latter's appeal derives from the alliterative context of Lolita's loins and labia[ls]. "Celadan" will certainly have me brushing up my somewhat stale Dryden, and re-reading RLSK for further clues of relevance beyond the mere fact (coincidence?) of usage [...] the word PALEARCTIC puzzles until I realize that the PALE, pronounced PALLY [sic], is from the prefix PALEO- meaning ancient or Old-World. Do we have Friendly Pale(o)-Fire with Promethean implications?

JM: If the cat had been a pink panther (instead of blue!) and I, Inspector Clouseau, my reasoning would lead me from Samuel Johnson's Hodge ( were he a she) to reach John Dryden, through Johnson's critical essays. Where he also mentions Dryden's play about Dom Sebastião, who disappeared in a battle against the infidels and is expected to come back in the future like a Messiah (mentioned in former L-postings already).
A cat that appears from nowhere is rather interesting anyway. As was the link you made bt. "light of my life" and Lolita's alliterative context (btw: why "celadan"?). Also the suggestion about a promethean Paleo-Fire: right in the Clouseau spirit!
For further feline epiphanic considerations, I quote (RLSK): " - 'I must confess,' said he as he stroked a soft blue cat with celadon eyes which had appeared from nowhere and now made itself comfortable in his lap...[...]He put down the cat and rummaged awhile among some papers in a drawer [...] I don't know what's the matter with this cat, she does not seem to know milk all of a sudden.'."

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