Subject
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EDITOR's NOTE. There is a very substantial literature on these matter. There
is in my book WORLDS IN REGRESSION a chapter dealing specifically with
names, anagrams, and levels analysis in PF. The book is long out of print
but I noticed some dealer has a used copy for $95.
----- Original Message -----
From: <MalignD@aol.com>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 11:46 AM
Subject: Questions about Pale Fire
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (55
lines) ------------------
> I have two points/questions to raise about Pale Fire:
>
> One: the idea that Kinbote is Botkin has always seemed to me a
particularly
> clumsy one, an extra veil that adds little to further interest in the
> question of identity. (I.e., if Kinbote is Botkin, who cares, in that we
> know nearly nothing of Botkin?)
>
> The reference to Botkin in the note to line 894, in which Kinbote/Botkin
is
> supposedly established, has never seemed to me persuasively argued to make
> that connection.
>
> Professor Pardon says: "I was under the impression that you were born in
> Russia, and that your name was a kind of anagram of Botkin or Botkine?"
>
> If Kinbote was, in actuality, Botkin, the Professor wouldn't have asked if
> his name was "a kind of anagram" for Botkin; his name would be Botkin.
>
> Kinbote replies, "You are confusing me with some refugee from Nova
Zembla";
> i.e., with someone else.
>
> Pardon then says, "You do know Russian, though?. I think I heard you, the
> other day, talking to--what's his name--oh, my goodness ..."
>
> Shade says: "Sir, we all find it difficult to attack that name ..."
>
> Professor Hurley: "Think of the French word for 'tire': punoo."
>
> So it would seem there is "someone els," another Russian-speaking scholar
at
> New Wye, other, that is, than Kinbote/Botkin, one with a tricky name. Let
us
> assume, for the moment that it is this other scholar that the addled
Pardon
> was referring to when he spoke about "a kind of anagram." If we allow
this,
> then Botkin would seem to be just another scholar at the university of no
> more consequence than Pardon. But then, why does he, Botkin, appear in
the
> Index? (Why does he appear in the novel?)
>
> I suggest, with some trepidation, that Nabokov is a "kind of" anagram for
> Botkin or Botkine and a name many have difficulty attacking (are unsure
how
> to pronounce), that Nabokov is the other Russian-speaking scholar lurking
in
> the shadows of his own book.
>
> Which leaves the question as to why, if this were the case
(Botkin/Nabokov),
> the wrong name, (V. Botkin, not V. Nabokov) appears in the Index. This
might
> reasonably be attributed to Kinbote's malevolence and jealousy, taken out
not
> only in citing the wrong name, but a wrong name that means, variously,
> "maggot," shoemaker," "stiletto," and "big-bellied."
>
> Two: One obvious meaning of the (novel's) title Pale Fire would seem to
be
> Kinbote's moon as thief to Shade's sun. But Shakespeare specifically
> mentions three thieves, sun, moon, and sea, each stealing from the other.
I
> wonder if anyone has any thoughts about this, whether there might be a
> replication of this three-part circle of thievery within the novel and who
> might the third thief (with Kinbote and Shade) be.
>
> Thank you all for your patience. I would welcome any comments.
>
>
is in my book WORLDS IN REGRESSION a chapter dealing specifically with
names, anagrams, and levels analysis in PF. The book is long out of print
but I noticed some dealer has a used copy for $95.
----- Original Message -----
From: <MalignD@aol.com>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2002 11:46 AM
Subject: Questions about Pale Fire
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (55
lines) ------------------
> I have two points/questions to raise about Pale Fire:
>
> One: the idea that Kinbote is Botkin has always seemed to me a
particularly
> clumsy one, an extra veil that adds little to further interest in the
> question of identity. (I.e., if Kinbote is Botkin, who cares, in that we
> know nearly nothing of Botkin?)
>
> The reference to Botkin in the note to line 894, in which Kinbote/Botkin
is
> supposedly established, has never seemed to me persuasively argued to make
> that connection.
>
> Professor Pardon says: "I was under the impression that you were born in
> Russia, and that your name was a kind of anagram of Botkin or Botkine?"
>
> If Kinbote was, in actuality, Botkin, the Professor wouldn't have asked if
> his name was "a kind of anagram" for Botkin; his name would be Botkin.
>
> Kinbote replies, "You are confusing me with some refugee from Nova
Zembla";
> i.e., with someone else.
>
> Pardon then says, "You do know Russian, though?. I think I heard you, the
> other day, talking to--what's his name--oh, my goodness ..."
>
> Shade says: "Sir, we all find it difficult to attack that name ..."
>
> Professor Hurley: "Think of the French word for 'tire': punoo."
>
> So it would seem there is "someone els," another Russian-speaking scholar
at
> New Wye, other, that is, than Kinbote/Botkin, one with a tricky name. Let
us
> assume, for the moment that it is this other scholar that the addled
Pardon
> was referring to when he spoke about "a kind of anagram." If we allow
this,
> then Botkin would seem to be just another scholar at the university of no
> more consequence than Pardon. But then, why does he, Botkin, appear in
the
> Index? (Why does he appear in the novel?)
>
> I suggest, with some trepidation, that Nabokov is a "kind of" anagram for
> Botkin or Botkine and a name many have difficulty attacking (are unsure
how
> to pronounce), that Nabokov is the other Russian-speaking scholar lurking
in
> the shadows of his own book.
>
> Which leaves the question as to why, if this were the case
(Botkin/Nabokov),
> the wrong name, (V. Botkin, not V. Nabokov) appears in the Index. This
might
> reasonably be attributed to Kinbote's malevolence and jealousy, taken out
not
> only in citing the wrong name, but a wrong name that means, variously,
> "maggot," shoemaker," "stiletto," and "big-bellied."
>
> Two: One obvious meaning of the (novel's) title Pale Fire would seem to
be
> Kinbote's moon as thief to Shade's sun. But Shakespeare specifically
> mentions three thieves, sun, moon, and sea, each stealing from the other.
I
> wonder if anyone has any thoughts about this, whether there might be a
> replication of this three-part circle of thievery within the novel and who
> might the third thief (with Kinbote and Shade) be.
>
> Thank you all for your patience. I would welcome any comments.
>
>