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Fwd: Re: Query: Colors in Nabokov's novels
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----- Forwarded message from hsilep@yahoo.com -----
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 20:00:07 -0800 (PST)
From: Alyssa Pelish <hsilep@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: Alyssa Pelish <hsilep@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Query: Colors in Nabokov's novels
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
There was a brief discussion about this a year or so ago, I think. (It's
possible to search in the archives, right?)
In any case, my two cents were a reference to Nabokov's discussion of the color
purple in his lecture on Swann's Way. There, he identifies the color as one
that is associated with the artistic disposition. I don't know that we want to
regard a certain color as if it were an algebraic constant, but it it were, than
we might simply interpret the many purplish items in Nabokov's prose as
authorial fingerprints.
--Alyssa Pelish
"Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu> wrote: EDNOTE. There is, I recall, a
dissertation in colors in ADA and several people
have taken note of VN's elaborate use of color terms both in actual
descriptions and in thematic "color-coding." If I were doing your project, I
would run computer searches on all noted colors, copy them and their contexts
into a separate files, group them by color (and also the modified noun) , and
then start looking for patterns. Perhaps other subscribers can point you to
points of interest. Do be cautious since VN once castigated a student for
automatically associating "green" with nature, etc, etc. VN often used it in
connection with death. You might also want to look at the first chapter of my
old book (Worlds n Regression) which examines synaesthesia and the rainbow
motif in Speak, Memory.
----- Forwarded message from Vengro@aol.com -----
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 19:40:34 -0500
From: Vengro@aol.com
Reply-To: Vengro@aol.com
Subject: Inquiry from a Nabokovian
To: chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu
Hello, Don. I wasn't sure how to go about posting this question to the list, and
since I assume that all e-mails have to get past you anyways, I figured I might
as well just send this to you and you can forward it to the list at large? I'd
appreciate it.
I'm currently enrolled in a class on Nabokov, and for my final paper, I'm very
interested in the theme of color, specifically in Lolita. After reading several
novels and short stories, I've noticed that there are some colors that appear
over and over and over again.
Purple is one I only started picking up while reading Lolita, but afterwards, I
couldn't help but notice it everywhere I looked. Black is common, and a lot of
the women that figure prominently in Nabokov's works end up wearing things that
are made of black velvet, specifically. Red is another major color, and grey as
well, especially where irises are concerned.
Can anyone reccomend any resources I might look up in regards to this topic? I'm
mainly interested in this repetition of color and its significance. In Nabokov's
world, a knife is never just a knife, and even if I can't understand all of it
most of the time, I know the colors are specifically chosen for a reason. All
and any bits of help or at least a nudge in the right direction would be much
appreciated.
-Michal
----- End forwarded message -----
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