Subject
LOLITA: setter/collie canine speculation (fwd)
Date
Body
I may have missed some of the dog debate, but what I've seen leads me to
believe that Nabokovians may have been confusing the "real world" with
verbal texture. Given Nabokov's penchant for using hounds as signs of
authorial agency (Rowe and, probably, others), the word "setter" rather
than the actual dog it signifies is of evident importance. This dog,
which serves as a fatal trigger for Charlotte's death, is a
setter-en-scene.
In a film version, the connotation would be lost, unless the word
"setter" were to be spoken. (I don't think Nabokov would have relied on a
visual to verbal association dependent upon zoological knowledge, but I
could be wrong). And on screen (Lassie, etc.)the collie poshlost' is hard
to resist.
A general rule of thumb? When seeking an explanation for a particular
image in Nabokov, look at the word, first.
believe that Nabokovians may have been confusing the "real world" with
verbal texture. Given Nabokov's penchant for using hounds as signs of
authorial agency (Rowe and, probably, others), the word "setter" rather
than the actual dog it signifies is of evident importance. This dog,
which serves as a fatal trigger for Charlotte's death, is a
setter-en-scene.
In a film version, the connotation would be lost, unless the word
"setter" were to be spoken. (I don't think Nabokov would have relied on a
visual to verbal association dependent upon zoological knowledge, but I
could be wrong). And on screen (Lassie, etc.)the collie poshlost' is hard
to resist.
A general rule of thumb? When seeking an explanation for a particular
image in Nabokov, look at the word, first.