Subject
: Poor Hazel - reply to Mr Bolt and Comment by Sergei Aksenov:
Jerry Friedman
Jerry Friedman
From
Date
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Friedman" <jerry_friedman@yahoo.com>
To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 10:19 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: Fw: Poor Hazel - reply to Mr Bolt: Comment by Sergei
Aksenov
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (68
lines) ------------------
>
> --- "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net> wrote:
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Sergej Aksenov" <aksenov@onetel.net.uk>
> > To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> ...
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Carolyn Kunin
> > > > To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> ...
> > > > There are a number of ugly women who have been successful - in love
> > among
> > > > other things. Mrs Roosevelt comes to mind; the fictional giantess,
> > Liesl,
> > > > in Robertson Davies' "Fifth Business" comes to mind, and the
> > > > non-fictional Pancho Barnes (read her biography "The Happy Bottom
> > Riding
> > > > Club" for a very good time). There are many others, I assure you.
> > >
> > > Sybil entirely agrees (PF 320-325):
> > >
> > > 'But this is prejudice! You should rejoice
> > > That she is innocent. Why overstress
> > > The physical? She _wants_ to look a mess.
> > > Virgins have written some _resplendent_ books.
> > > Lovemaking is not everything. Good looks
> > > Are not _that_ indispensable!'
> ...
>
> Very strange. I thought about citing this passage in my reply to
> Carolyn Kunin as evidence that Sybil *disagrees* and is trying to
> console herself as well as her husband. Surely there's no doubt
> that Sybil doesn't expect Hazel to be successful in love, which
> is one thing Ms. Kunin mentioned.
>
> Around line 300, it's clear that Sybil earlier had joined John in
> trying to cure Hazel's squint and get her to lose weight (something
> Hazel could hardly have failed to notice, by the way). At that
> time, there's no trace of either one's thinking of Hazel's looks as
> anything but catastrophic.
>
> "She might have been you, me, or some quaint blend.
> Nature chose me so as to wrench and rend
> Your heart and mine."
>
> Now Sybil is singing a different tune, but not very convincingly.
> For instance, the emphasized "that" in "Good looks/ Are not _that_
> indispensable!" suggests that Sybil thinks good looks are at least
> somewhat indispensable. (Her logic in modifying "indispensable"
> can be criticized.) More doubtfully, her "resplendent" rings false
> to me.
>
> But in my opinion, what immediately follows Sybil's speech removes
> all doubt:
>
> And still
> Old Pan would call from every painted hill,
> And still the demons of _our_ pity spoke:
> No lips would share the lipstick of her smoke...
>
> (Emphasis mine.)
>
> Jerry Friedman
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now
> http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/
From: "Jerry Friedman" <jerry_friedman@yahoo.com>
To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 10:19 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: Fw: Poor Hazel - reply to Mr Bolt: Comment by Sergei
Aksenov
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (68
lines) ------------------
>
> --- "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net> wrote:
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Sergej Aksenov" <aksenov@onetel.net.uk>
> > To: "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> ...
> > > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > > From: Carolyn Kunin
> > > > To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
> ...
> > > > There are a number of ugly women who have been successful - in love
> > among
> > > > other things. Mrs Roosevelt comes to mind; the fictional giantess,
> > Liesl,
> > > > in Robertson Davies' "Fifth Business" comes to mind, and the
> > > > non-fictional Pancho Barnes (read her biography "The Happy Bottom
> > Riding
> > > > Club" for a very good time). There are many others, I assure you.
> > >
> > > Sybil entirely agrees (PF 320-325):
> > >
> > > 'But this is prejudice! You should rejoice
> > > That she is innocent. Why overstress
> > > The physical? She _wants_ to look a mess.
> > > Virgins have written some _resplendent_ books.
> > > Lovemaking is not everything. Good looks
> > > Are not _that_ indispensable!'
> ...
>
> Very strange. I thought about citing this passage in my reply to
> Carolyn Kunin as evidence that Sybil *disagrees* and is trying to
> console herself as well as her husband. Surely there's no doubt
> that Sybil doesn't expect Hazel to be successful in love, which
> is one thing Ms. Kunin mentioned.
>
> Around line 300, it's clear that Sybil earlier had joined John in
> trying to cure Hazel's squint and get her to lose weight (something
> Hazel could hardly have failed to notice, by the way). At that
> time, there's no trace of either one's thinking of Hazel's looks as
> anything but catastrophic.
>
> "She might have been you, me, or some quaint blend.
> Nature chose me so as to wrench and rend
> Your heart and mine."
>
> Now Sybil is singing a different tune, but not very convincingly.
> For instance, the emphasized "that" in "Good looks/ Are not _that_
> indispensable!" suggests that Sybil thinks good looks are at least
> somewhat indispensable. (Her logic in modifying "indispensable"
> can be criticized.) More doubtfully, her "resplendent" rings false
> to me.
>
> But in my opinion, what immediately follows Sybil's speech removes
> all doubt:
>
> And still
> Old Pan would call from every painted hill,
> And still the demons of _our_ pity spoke:
> No lips would share the lipstick of her smoke...
>
> (Emphasis mine.)
>
> Jerry Friedman
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> HotJobs - Search new jobs daily now
> http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/