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Re: Pale Fire 'book of names' is Pnin
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"Vladimir Nabokov Forum" napisał(a):
Dear Tomasz,I agree with you--as I think everyone would--that there are
many threads that connect VN's novels. I'm not sure that is enough to
surmise that Kinbote's "remarkable book on surnames" is, in fact, Pnin.
I rather suspect that Kinbote's book is another marker placed there by
Nabokov to show us that this dialogue never actually took place. In the
scene, Shade and Kinbote together assert that there is an English
translation ("Oxford, 1956") of the book; but a book on surnames would
be almost impossible to translate. It would be even more difficult than
Pale Fire! Why? Because many of the differences and connections between
names and their origins would disappear when translated into a different
language. Imagine, for instance, if a book on surnames were translated
from English into German. What would we do with a last name like
Steinmann? The German translation would say that Steinmann comes from
the German and means "steinmann." I think Jansy once pointed out
something similar in Pale Fire, where the Portuguese translation
obliterated the difference between two words in the original English. In
any case, as JF recently noted, the whole of the dialogue in C.894 is
highly suspect. If you have not read Barabtarlo's exhaustive annotations
to Pnin, you might give it a look. He does a great job unpacking many of
the name associations there.Best,Matt Roth Sorry for my bad english. I
must say that I am not sure what 'book of surnemes' really is. Can
someone explain that? Why Kinbote would write such book of surnames? I
want to say couple of things. Pale Fire is book that contains great
concrete mystery. I thinkthat everyone admit that Pale Fire holds
mystery. For example nobody knowswhat fragment with enumeration of many
languages by kinbote meanand why it is written etc. Nobody really nows
really about nothing about this book. I think that this book should be
read as a book of metaphors and I think that every character (for
example Oswin Bretvit, Sylvia, Lavender, Iris Acht)also every dialogue
and so on has its own strong methaphorical meaning.For example I was
trying to read in some time Hazel, Sybil and John dialoguein old barn as
a methaphor as world creation (or begining of consciousnes,or maybe end
of our material world) John as a Time, Sybil as a Space, and Hazel maybe
as a 'spectre' - all in absolute darkness at the begining.Pale Fire
contains mystery and I also think that this mystery if great,is complex
and book should be raead not strict but methaphorical.Gradus is
methaphor of something (death? gradation of growing consciousnes?)Oswin
is metaphor of something (method? I do not know) Emeraldis metaphor of
somthing or someone and so on. I thing that I 'feel' quite a lot about
Pale Fire but understand only quite a bit.Pale Fire is a book that
creates for me a very strong and glowingdreamy vision of its contents.
As to Pnin I think that it can be also such a charade but I do not
'feel'this book. Pnin (as a character) is mentioned in Pale Fire, those
booksare evidently interconnected. Question is if there can
be discoveredmore about this connection. I think that this 'book of
surnames' Oxford, 1956 may be some hint. This is how I see that
subjects. I want to sharesuch concept among the others. It can said
something in may opinion bothabout "Pale Fire" and "Pnin" Tomasz
Kaminski
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Dear Tomasz,I agree with you--as I think everyone would--that there are
many threads that connect VN's novels. I'm not sure that is enough to
surmise that Kinbote's "remarkable book on surnames" is, in fact, Pnin.
I rather suspect that Kinbote's book is another marker placed there by
Nabokov to show us that this dialogue never actually took place. In the
scene, Shade and Kinbote together assert that there is an English
translation ("Oxford, 1956") of the book; but a book on surnames would
be almost impossible to translate. It would be even more difficult than
Pale Fire! Why? Because many of the differences and connections between
names and their origins would disappear when translated into a different
language. Imagine, for instance, if a book on surnames were translated
from English into German. What would we do with a last name like
Steinmann? The German translation would say that Steinmann comes from
the German and means "steinmann." I think Jansy once pointed out
something similar in Pale Fire, where the Portuguese translation
obliterated the difference between two words in the original English. In
any case, as JF recently noted, the whole of the dialogue in C.894 is
highly suspect. If you have not read Barabtarlo's exhaustive annotations
to Pnin, you might give it a look. He does a great job unpacking many of
the name associations there.Best,Matt Roth Sorry for my bad english. I
must say that I am not sure what 'book of surnemes' really is. Can
someone explain that? Why Kinbote would write such book of surnames? I
want to say couple of things. Pale Fire is book that contains great
concrete mystery. I thinkthat everyone admit that Pale Fire holds
mystery. For example nobody knowswhat fragment with enumeration of many
languages by kinbote meanand why it is written etc. Nobody really nows
really about nothing about this book. I think that this book should be
read as a book of metaphors and I think that every character (for
example Oswin Bretvit, Sylvia, Lavender, Iris Acht)also every dialogue
and so on has its own strong methaphorical meaning.For example I was
trying to read in some time Hazel, Sybil and John dialoguein old barn as
a methaphor as world creation (or begining of consciousnes,or maybe end
of our material world) John as a Time, Sybil as a Space, and Hazel maybe
as a 'spectre' - all in absolute darkness at the begining.Pale Fire
contains mystery and I also think that this mystery if great,is complex
and book should be raead not strict but methaphorical.Gradus is
methaphor of something (death? gradation of growing consciousnes?)Oswin
is metaphor of something (method? I do not know) Emeraldis metaphor of
somthing or someone and so on. I thing that I 'feel' quite a lot about
Pale Fire but understand only quite a bit.Pale Fire is a book that
creates for me a very strong and glowingdreamy vision of its contents.
As to Pnin I think that it can be also such a charade but I do not
'feel'this book. Pnin (as a character) is mentioned in Pale Fire, those
booksare evidently interconnected. Question is if there can
be discoveredmore about this connection. I think that this 'book of
surnames' Oxford, 1956 may be some hint. This is how I see that
subjects. I want to sharesuch concept among the others. It can said
something in may opinion bothabout "Pale Fire" and "Pnin" Tomasz
Kaminski
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
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/