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Fwd: RE: Centerwell on VN & pedophilia
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----- Forwarded message from mushtary@yahoo.com -----
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 21:00:55 +0200
From: "A. Bouazza" <mushtary@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: "A. Bouazza" <mushtary@yahoo.com>
Subject: RE: Centerwell on VN & pedophilia
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Centerwell on VN & pedophilia
Dear Carolyn,
I read Centerwall's article many years ago and did communicate by letter my
dismay that no one has ever attempted to refute it to our very own Donald B.
Johnson (who had read the article as well and did not think much of it).
However, my very first reaction was that the whole thing was meant
tongue-in-cheek, but I was wrong. I do have a xerox copy somewhere in the
attic (I used to xerox any article on VN that seemed worthwhile, with the
result that I have thousands of xeroxed pages on this writer) but my first
attempt to unearth it proved unsuccessful. When Jo Morgan's book was first
announced my memory immediately retrieved the bits that it had retained, and
it struck me that the similarities between both theses were too strong to be
coincidental. Centerwall focuses on the passages in SPEAK, MEMORY dealing
with Uncle Ruka and draws the same conclusions, that young VN must have been
abused by him, and that LOLITA is a disguised "portrait" (my words) of those
experiences. I still recall the odd argument that, given the fact that the
word "molest" does not figure in LOLITA, VN must have been molested by his
uncle; that VN's avoiding that word was a conscious act on his part.
In case I succeed in finding the said article during the weekend I will
reread it and share my findings with you.
Kind regards,
A. Bouazza.
-----Original Message-----
From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU]On Behalf
Of Donald B. Johnson
Sent: 07 September 2005 00:34
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Subject: Fwd: Centerwell on VN & pedophilia
This is another attempt (first one on July 27th was not posted) to draw
attention to the fact that same theory was propounded many years ago:
Centerwall, Brandon S. "Hidden in Plain Sight: Nabokov and Pedophilia,"
Texas Studies in Literature and Language 32:3 (Fall 1990), 468ff.
A. Bouazza.
Dear A. Bouazza,
I take it you have read this article? It will be months before I can get
over to the university library to read it. Could you give us an abstract?
There actually are a few things that seem possible among the murky
improbabilities that appear to predominate in Jo Morgan's book. Perhaps
Centerwell 's is a better-reasoned argument?
thanks,
Carolyn
----- End forwarded message -----