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Re: Nabokov & Death Penalty (fwd)
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From: Alex Fak <alexfak@hotmail.com>
In Bend Sinister, the protagonist tells his university colleagues, who are
trying to get him to sign a petition, that he never signs anything that he
has not written himself (with the obvious exception of legal papers).
Perhaps this is Nabokov's own statement on the subject? I suppose that
signing petitions is like participating in demonstrations (which Nabokov, in
Speak, Memory, says he does not understand) - it is taking an easy way out,
drowning oneself in other people's ideas, giving up on your own original
thinking.... Considering this, writing one's own letter instead of signing a
petition seems very much like Nabokov.
But I agree that Invitation to a Beheading is about as much a statement on
capital punishment as Moby Dick is proverbially "about the whaling
industry."
Alex Fak
>From: Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu>
>Reply-To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>Subject: Re: Nabokov & Death Penalty (fwd)
>Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 12:16:13 -0700
>
>From: rodney41@mindspring.com
>
>I believe you are referring to a letter Nabokov wrote to California
>Governor Pat Brown as to why he refused to sign some petition regarding the
>death penalty; that he wouldn't sign such a petition because he had already
>written a book against it.
>
>I've never understood this statement. For one thing, he was devoutly
>against the use of art for political ends, and for another, "Invitation to
>a Beheading" hardly qualifies as a statement against capital punishment at
>all -- it's about being an outsider in a fake, conformist society, where
>imagination is the greatest possible crime. Anyone who reads it looking for
>enlightenment on how to deal with the Timothy McVeighs of the world is
>going to be sorely disappointed.
>
>1 May 2002 11:46:16 -0700 Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
>From: Michael Bohinick <mikebohinick@yahoo.com>
>
> More telling of Nabokov's opposition to Capital
>Punishment, no matter what is written in Dar, can be
>found in 'Invitation to a Beheading.' The entire work
>condemns such punishment, as, I believe, Nabokov
>mentions in a letter to some politician. The large
>amount of political views mentioned in the past few
>days seem to have strayed from the topic.
> The current president can not get a firm grasp of
>Russian culture from reading Dostoevski, as he would
>also be unable to do so by reading any Russian author,
>past or present.
>
>MAB
>
>__________________________________________________
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>LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience
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In Bend Sinister, the protagonist tells his university colleagues, who are
trying to get him to sign a petition, that he never signs anything that he
has not written himself (with the obvious exception of legal papers).
Perhaps this is Nabokov's own statement on the subject? I suppose that
signing petitions is like participating in demonstrations (which Nabokov, in
Speak, Memory, says he does not understand) - it is taking an easy way out,
drowning oneself in other people's ideas, giving up on your own original
thinking.... Considering this, writing one's own letter instead of signing a
petition seems very much like Nabokov.
But I agree that Invitation to a Beheading is about as much a statement on
capital punishment as Moby Dick is proverbially "about the whaling
industry."
Alex Fak
>From: Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu>
>Reply-To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
>Subject: Re: Nabokov & Death Penalty (fwd)
>Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 12:16:13 -0700
>
>From: rodney41@mindspring.com
>
>I believe you are referring to a letter Nabokov wrote to California
>Governor Pat Brown as to why he refused to sign some petition regarding the
>death penalty; that he wouldn't sign such a petition because he had already
>written a book against it.
>
>I've never understood this statement. For one thing, he was devoutly
>against the use of art for political ends, and for another, "Invitation to
>a Beheading" hardly qualifies as a statement against capital punishment at
>all -- it's about being an outsider in a fake, conformist society, where
>imagination is the greatest possible crime. Anyone who reads it looking for
>enlightenment on how to deal with the Timothy McVeighs of the world is
>going to be sorely disappointed.
>
>1 May 2002 11:46:16 -0700 Galya Diment <galya@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
>From: Michael Bohinick <mikebohinick@yahoo.com>
>
> More telling of Nabokov's opposition to Capital
>Punishment, no matter what is written in Dar, can be
>found in 'Invitation to a Beheading.' The entire work
>condemns such punishment, as, I believe, Nabokov
>mentions in a letter to some politician. The large
>amount of political views mentioned in the past few
>days seem to have strayed from the topic.
> The current president can not get a firm grasp of
>Russian culture from reading Dostoevski, as he would
>also be unable to do so by reading any Russian author,
>past or present.
>
>MAB
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience
>http://launch.yahoo.com
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.