Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0004268, Mon, 19 Jul 1999 10:28:51 -0700

Subject
Re: "Sebastian" (as in Knight) (fwd)
Date
Body
-> EDITOR'S NOTE. Michael Suh sent NABOKV-L the posting below questioning the
-> validity/neccessity of notes like John Rea's recent Poe/Petersburg
-> explication. My response and his reply to it follow. These are questions
-> that every Nabokovian should ponder. When is a suspected subtext or
-> stylistic ploy Nabokov's own and when an invention of the reader.
-> ---------- Forwarded message ----------

-> Dear Professor Johnson,


-> ...
-> I am quite aware that things like this are an important aspect of N's art
-> nor was I doubting in any way the mosaic...

-> Michael Suh


-> > Dear Michael Suh,
-> > People who don't catch things like this are missing an important
-> > aspect of VN's art. They are part of the mosaic that makes up the whole.
-> > Best, Don

On coming upon this last two-sentence message to Michael from Don, I
momentarily misread it, taking "They" to refer to "People who don't
catch..." rather than to the intended "things like this".

But isn't it a fit misreading? We ordinary idler readers, catching a
little, still missing much, fishing again and catching a bit more, are
part of a broad "whole" readership including not only the 400 but also
the four million.

Mary Krimmel