Subject
Lolita: setter vs collie (fwd)
Date
Body
From: John Rea <jarea@uky.campus.mci.net>
VN carefully introduces us early (at the time of his first arrival at
the Haze house) to the dog that will later be the indirect cause of
Charlotte's death -- my creative writing professor advised us that one
should always do this sort of thing. After Charlotte's death, at the
accident scene the dog is still there, identified now as a "setter"
Strangely, in the filmscript, this dog, also introduced at H's
arrival, has become a "collie". I cannot imaging VM making this change
of detail accidentally, nor without a purpose. Here my own devious,
linguist's, mind recalls that the pronunciation of that dog is /kali/:
and a handy reference book tells me that "members of the <thug> sect
worshipped the goddess Kali <a goddess of death, inter al. jr> and
committed ... murders in sacrifice to her".
Other explanations invited. (One is permitted on the internet
musings one might hesitate to make in print! "On the internet noone
knows you're a dog.")
John
The number you have reached is imaginary.
Please divide by i and dial again.
--------------------------------
EDITOR's NOTE. I assume VN's script is
the one referred to? Perhaps, the collie is VN's covert tribute to
Hollywood's "Lassie." More seriously, Nabokov's film script existed in
many variants and alternate scenes-- from which he assembled the book
version. Dieter Zimmer has just published (in his marvellous Rowohlt VN
edition) all of VN's script. The answer to Col. Rea's question may lie
therein. Did VN just goof or is there indeed something going on?
VN carefully introduces us early (at the time of his first arrival at
the Haze house) to the dog that will later be the indirect cause of
Charlotte's death -- my creative writing professor advised us that one
should always do this sort of thing. After Charlotte's death, at the
accident scene the dog is still there, identified now as a "setter"
Strangely, in the filmscript, this dog, also introduced at H's
arrival, has become a "collie". I cannot imaging VM making this change
of detail accidentally, nor without a purpose. Here my own devious,
linguist's, mind recalls that the pronunciation of that dog is /kali/:
and a handy reference book tells me that "members of the <thug> sect
worshipped the goddess Kali <a goddess of death, inter al. jr> and
committed ... murders in sacrifice to her".
Other explanations invited. (One is permitted on the internet
musings one might hesitate to make in print! "On the internet noone
knows you're a dog.")
John
The number you have reached is imaginary.
Please divide by i and dial again.
--------------------------------
EDITOR's NOTE. I assume VN's script is
the one referred to? Perhaps, the collie is VN's covert tribute to
Hollywood's "Lassie." More seriously, Nabokov's film script existed in
many variants and alternate scenes-- from which he assembled the book
version. Dieter Zimmer has just published (in his marvellous Rowohlt VN
edition) all of VN's script. The answer to Col. Rea's question may lie
therein. Did VN just goof or is there indeed something going on?