Subject
A bevy of Botkins? "Nikto b"
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Dear Carolyn,
if our discussion has influenced my position (reading) of
Pale Fire, it is in the admission that Nabokov could lay
consciously some secondary variants, not leading to the solution,
around the main story, like in a chess problem. Or, if you
wish, I give now more importance to this, I assume that it could
be imporant for him as part of a "method" in creating Pale Fire.
In difference from definitive explanation of the story by
MPD, which (I still believe) would destroy it, the co-existence
of several possibilities, some strongly supported
by many (misleading) keys,
some only by very weak evidence (few strange coincidences...),
and such that you never find defintive answer, could be extremely
fruitful - it creates tension (and MPD theory to me -
it is a bit like you shortcircuit your battery, join straight + with -).
"Nikto b'" as an anagram of Botkin to me looks as a (moderate quality)
inner rhyme in a poem, not something of crucial importance. Possibly
consciously chosen but not of great importance. I don't think it is very
important also because of its approximativeness.
"Nikto" in russian (= nobody) may bear of course symbolic significance
and was often exploited. But I think in the expression "Nikto b'"
it is spoiled by the presence of "b' ". The "b'" is (poetically reduced)
form of the particule "by" (бы) which is used in the grammatical
constructions expressing conditionality and doubt,
like "esli by eto bylo tak"="if it were so", "kto by mog" = "who might",
"nikto b'" looks like part of the sentence "nobody would..."
I don't think it looks as a good anagram. Also it sounds heavy when
pronounced aloud.
Best regards,
Sergei Soloviev
> Dear Sergei Soloviev,
>
> I wonder what you think of the possibility that, at least in Pale Fire,
> Botkin = nikto b'?
>
> Carolyn
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if our discussion has influenced my position (reading) of
Pale Fire, it is in the admission that Nabokov could lay
consciously some secondary variants, not leading to the solution,
around the main story, like in a chess problem. Or, if you
wish, I give now more importance to this, I assume that it could
be imporant for him as part of a "method" in creating Pale Fire.
In difference from definitive explanation of the story by
MPD, which (I still believe) would destroy it, the co-existence
of several possibilities, some strongly supported
by many (misleading) keys,
some only by very weak evidence (few strange coincidences...),
and such that you never find defintive answer, could be extremely
fruitful - it creates tension (and MPD theory to me -
it is a bit like you shortcircuit your battery, join straight + with -).
"Nikto b'" as an anagram of Botkin to me looks as a (moderate quality)
inner rhyme in a poem, not something of crucial importance. Possibly
consciously chosen but not of great importance. I don't think it is very
important also because of its approximativeness.
"Nikto" in russian (= nobody) may bear of course symbolic significance
and was often exploited. But I think in the expression "Nikto b'"
it is spoiled by the presence of "b' ". The "b'" is (poetically reduced)
form of the particule "by" (бы) which is used in the grammatical
constructions expressing conditionality and doubt,
like "esli by eto bylo tak"="if it were so", "kto by mog" = "who might",
"nikto b'" looks like part of the sentence "nobody would..."
I don't think it looks as a good anagram. Also it sounds heavy when
pronounced aloud.
Best regards,
Sergei Soloviev
> Dear Sergei Soloviev,
>
> I wonder what you think of the possibility that, at least in Pale Fire,
> Botkin = nikto b'?
>
> Carolyn
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
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