Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0003292, Mon, 10 Aug 1998 13:48:47 -0700

Subject
Re: A Russian Beauty (Krasavitsa) (fwd)
Date
Body
From: Lisa Zunshine <zunshine@HUMANITAS.UCSB.EDU>

Oops, my apologies to Peter Kartsev and other list members. Zweig's story
in question is, of course, 'The Burning Secret.'

Lisa


On Mon, 10 Aug 1998, Donald Barton Johnson wrote:

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Sun, 09 Aug 1998 03:23:17 -0700
> To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@UCSBVM.UCSB.EDU>
> Subject: A Russian Beauty
>
> EDITOR's NOTE. Lisa Zunshine <zunshine@HUMANITAS.UCSB.EDU>, who responds
> to Peter Kartsev below, is the editor of a forthcoming collection of
> articles tentatively entitled NABOKOV AND THE OTHER ARTS from Garland.
> ----------------------------
>
> >>From "Peter A. Kartsev" <petr@glas.apc.org>
> >Incidentally, I have a query of my own regarding the story. It has to do
> >with Forstmann, the Russified German, who "knew how to to form,
> >instantly and while no one noticed, an eternal friendship with a dog or
> >with a child". This rings a distant bell: wasn't there a story by Stefan
> >Zweig, whom VN no doubt despised, where somebody used just such a
> >friendship with a little boy in order to get acquainted with his mother?
> >Memory refuses to provide a title, and I have no access to anything by
> >Zweig right now, but maybe somebody would be interested enough to look
> >up a possible parallel.
>
>
> I believe Peter Kartsev has in mind Zweig's story 'Fear,' but (may be
> because I read 'A Russian Beauty' only in English translation) I have never
> felt that Forstmann was such a repulsive person. Isn't his ability to form
> an instant eternal friendship with a dog or with a child rather appealing?
> Lisa Zunshine
>