Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0003470, Thu, 5 Nov 1998 14:38:32 -0800

Subject
Re: Art & Suffering (fwd)
Date
Body
At 08:24 AM 11/4/98 -0800, you wrote:
>In a message dated 11/3/98 2:00:51 PM EST, Jerry Friedman writes:
>
>> I'm tempted to
>> see a connection between the unusual or shameful sexuality of many of
>> Nabokov's main characters and the secret that led to his brother's suicide
>> (which I suspect was homosexuality, though I don't remember _Speak,
Memory_ as being explicit on that point).


Christopher Berg <Tentender@aol.com> responds:


>While it is apparently also tempting to remember the death of every
homosexual
>as a suicide, since this is the most common method of death for
homosexuals in
>both high and low literature (not to mention popular media), let us remember
>that Nabokov's less fortunate (and, yes, homosexual) younger brother Sergey
>died a less typical death -- no sign of "homosexual self-loathing" -- at nazi
>hands in a concentration camp.
----------------
Jerry Friedman reponds to Chris Berg.
Thanks for the correction and additional information. I'm sure you're
right that stereotypes of homosexuals were part of what led to my mistake.
Jerry Friedman