Subject
Dimtri Nabokov Comments
Date
Body
EDITOR's NOTE. DMITRI NABOKOV, via his intermediary Sandy Pallot Klein
<taxi@flinet.com>, offers his thoughts on various matters recently raised
by NABOKV-L subscribers.
------------------------------------------------
SUBJECTS: _CHEREZ_ CHUR, LUZHIN'S LOO, LYNE'S _LO_ AND SOME _ALIA_.
IF I MAY, I'LL EMERGE FOR A MOMENT FROM MY _UEDINENIE_ (IN THIS CASE, A
SOLITARY RETREAT INTO WORK; IN LUZHIN'S CASE A TOTALLY PERSONAL AND
ORIGINAL TERM FOR "TOILET," SO, AS SEVERAL NABOKV-L EXPERTS HAVE
ALREADY ASCERTAINED, THERE IS NO Dal' OR Oxford THAT CAN HELP) INTO
CHUR, WITHOUT, I HOPE, PUTTING A HOCKEY SKATE IN MY MOUTH. MEANWHILE
MY HOMONYM, RUSSIAN-BORN AND APPARENTLY NOT VERY LITERARY, APPEARS TO
HAVE BEEN FARMED OUT BY THE HAWKS TO INDIANAPOLIS. HE'LL DOUBTLESS TURN
UP AGAIN, AND, TO ANSWER ANOTHER QUERY, WE MAY EVENTUALLY FIND OUT IF
THERE'S ANY CONNECTION.
THE NABOKVELLIANS WHO TOUCHED ON Chur AND _chur_ ARE RIGHT IN SO FAR AS
THEIR COMMENTS GO: CHUR IS, FOR SWITZERLAND, A FAIRLY LARGE
(POP. 33,000) BURG SOME 300 KM NE OF MONTREUX, IN THE GRISONS
(CENTRAL-EASTERN SWITZERLAND), THE POINT OF DEPARTURE FOR MOUNTAIN
RAILWAYS TO RESORTS SUCH AS AROSA AND FLIMS, AND, IN GENERAL, A
"GATEWAY" TO THE ENGADINE. ACCORDING TO FATHER'S NOTATIONS IN A
HALLWAG GUIDEBOOK AND ON HIS PERSONAL MAPS, MY PARENTS HAD OCCASION
TO TRAVERSE IT ON THEIR SUMMER TRAVELS, BUT THEY DOUBTLESS KNEW OF ITS
EXISTENCE BEFORE THAT.
AND OF COURSE _CHUR_, IN RUSSIAN - - PRONOUNCED AS IT APPEARS - - IS AN
ELDERLY WORD MEANING "GET THEE HENCE" (ANOTHER FAMILIAR EXAMPLE IS
Boris Godunov's "Chur, detya," to the Tsarevich's apparition), WITH
RELATED SENSES SUCH AS "SILENCE!" IT ALSO MEANS "BOUNDARY," A SENSE IN
WHICH IT SURVIVES IN MODERN USAGE IN THE LOCUTION _CHEREZCHUR_ (BEYOND
THE PALE, HENCE "EXCESSIVELY").
VN VERY PROBABLY HAD ALREADY TAKEN MENTAL NOTE OF THE AMUSING _VISUAL_
COINCIDENCE INVOLVING THE PRINCIPAL, SWISS-GERMAN, SPELLING, BUT IT IS
UNLIKELY HE INTENDED ANY HIDDEN NEXUS BETWEEN IT AND THE RUSSIAN WORD.
THE NAME IS PRONOUNCED "KUR" IN SWISS GERMAN, VERY MUCH LIKE OUR GOOD
OL' WESTERN BEER. IN SWISS FRENCH THE NAME IS Coire, IN SWISS ITALIAN
Coira, AND IN ROMANSCH Coera, WITH A TENDENCY FOR THE INITIAL LETTER TO
MUTATE TO AN ASPIRATED "H" IN SOME OF THE SEVEN BASIC VARIETIES OF
ROMANSCH AND IN SUNDRY LOCAL DIALECTS DERIVING FROM THE FOUR BASIC SWISS
LANGUAGES, BUT NEVER TO THE SOUND AN AMERICAN EYE WOULD MOST COMMONLY
ASSOCIATE WITH "CH" UNLESS HE WERE A CHOIRMASTER. FATHER WAS CAREFUL
ABOUT SUCH THINGS, ALTHOUGH, OF COURSE, EVERYONE INCLUDING HOMER AND
HOMAIS SOMETIMES NODS, AND I CANNOT TOTALLY VOUCH WITH REGARD TO A DASH
OF _TRIPLE-ENTENDRE_. BUT A MORE LIKELY FUNCTION OF THE NAME IN THE
NOVEL IS THE HANDY ASSONANCE BETWEEN "(THE HOTEL) MAJESTIC IN CHUR" AND
THE MISHEARD "(A HOTEL) FANTASTIC IN BLUR" (PRECEDING PAGE IN THE NEW
PENGUIN) - - A NABOKOVIAN WAY OF DEPICTING RAPTURE, STRESS, ANGUISH, OR
FATIGUE, OCCASIONED IN THIS CASE BY A FIRST-IMPRESSION RESEMBLANCE
BETWEEN THE HOTEL GIRL'S NAPE AND ARMANDE'S ON HUGH'S ARRIVAL BY TAXI
FROM TRUX, BUT PRESENT ALSO IN CHARACTERS' BLURRING SENSES IN _THE
ENCHANTER_ (WHERE DROWSINESS DOUBLES THE CAT IN THE GIRL'S EYES, WHERE
APPROACHING BLISS PLAYS TRICKS ON "ARTHUR," WHERE REAL TRUCKS THUNDER
THROUGH THE NIGHT), AND ELSEWHERE. AND THE IMPORTANT TOWN OF CHUR WOULD
REPRESENT A PERFECTLY LOGICAL PROMOTION FOR A REGIONAL HOTEL MANAGER. I
HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO PERUSE FATHER'S DIARIES FOR DETAILS AND SOME PEARL
MAY YET TURN UP TO CONFUTE ME. THE THING DID, OF COURSE, CAUSE A
PROBLEM WHEN I WAS TRANSLATING _TR TH_ INTO ITALIAN' ITALIAN.
IF ONE TRULY PERSISTS ONE CAN FIND CLUES - - DELIBERATE, SUBLIMINAL, OR
VERY OFTEN FORTUITOUS AND UNPLANTED BY ENTOMOLOGISTS OR SAILORS - -
ALMOST EVERYWHERE, SUCH AS THE PROPOSAL THAT "YOSEMITE" CONTAINS
"SEMITE"; OR ONE THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN BUT THAT MAY HAVE ELUDED ME IN
SOME LEARNED JOURNAL - - "Zembla" WITHIN "RESEMBLANCE".
I SHALL FINALLY SEE _LOLITA_ IN HER NEW GUISE IN LATE APRIL, NOT IN
MOVIELAND BUT IN A REMOTE, HIGH-SECURITY NORTHEASTERN HAMLET, AN IDEA
SUGGESTED BY THE THEORY THAT HUMBERT AND HAMLET WERE BASED ON EACH OTHER
WHEN JOHN RAY, ACTUALLY THE TEARY SINGER JOHNNY MOONLIGHTING AS A
SHRINK, INSPIRED BY A NEWLY FOUND TS OF _THE ENCHANTER_, WAS COMPOSING
_LOLITA_ WHILE UBIQUIXOTIC KINBOTE WAS DEVELOPING THE EMBRYONIC _SOLUS
REX_ INTO _PALE FIRE_.
NOBODY NEEDS TO DUCK, BUT IN MY HUMBLE OPINION THE POEM IN _PALE FIRE_,
WHATEVER ITS PURPOSE WITHIN THE NOVEL, NOT ONLY IS SUPERB IN ITSELF BUT,
IF READ ATTENTIVELY, CONTAINS, AMID MUCH ELSE, AN INVERSE MIRRORING IN
POOR SHADE'S TRAGEDY OF THE HAPPY CHILDHOOD THAT V & V SUCCEEDED IN
GIVING THEIR SON, AND FASCINATING INSIGHTS INTO THE "COMBINATIONAL
DELIGHTS" OF NABOKOV'S OWN CREATIVE PROCESS.
BRIAN WALTER SAYS SOME INTERESTING THINGS, AND HIS IDEA OF A DIAGRAM
RECALLS VN'S ELEGANTLY PICTORIAL ANALYSIS OF BELY'S PROSODY.
THE ESTATE, WHICH DOES POSSESS A LITTLE EQUIPMENT AND A LITTLE KNOW-HOW,
PROBABLY LACKS THE EXPERTISE AND, ALAS, THE TIME, TO CHURN OUT A FULLY
LINKED HTML EDITION OF _PALE FIRE_ IN TWO WEEKS. BUT TOM BOLT'S IDEA IS
INTRIGUING. IF THE ESTATE COULD BE GIVEN A MORE DETAILED IDEA OF SUCH A
PROJECT, IT COULD PONDER AND CONFER WITH AGENT AND PUBLISHER.
TO ANSWER VITALY KUPISK, I TOOK THAT PHOTO OF FATHER ON THE VIDEMANETTE,
IN ROUGEMONT NEAR GSTAAD, ON A RARE DAY WHEN HE SHARED SOME MEMORABLE
THOUGHTS WITH ME. I GRANTED _THE ECONOMIST_ PERMISSION, BUT NEVER
RECEIVED THE PROMISED ISSUE SO I COULD GET A GOOD IDEA OF THE CONTEXT.
THE THINGS THEY'RE MOST DILIGENT ABOUT MAILING ARE SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS.
AS I THINK I HAVE MENTIONED, WHILE I'M GENERALLY AGAINST BANNING, THAT
_LOLITA_ TRAVESTY THAT HAS BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS OF RUSSIA'S STAGES
TRULY DESERVES IT, ON PURELY ARTISTIC GROUNDS. THERE IS ALSO A GOOD
BIT OF DECEPTION HERE: ALBEE'S GROTESQUE IS WIDELY ATTRIBUTED TO VN'S
PEN, AND NEITHER ALBEE NOR HIS AGENTS DO MUCH TO DISPEL THE NOTION.
IT'S ALL THE RESULT OF ONE OF OUR BIG MISTAKES - - GETTING INVOLVED
WITH A COUPLE OF GENTS WHOSE INITIAL PROJECT TURNED FROM PROMISING TO
VERY SHADY. I'LL TELL THE STORY ONE DAY.
BEST,
DN
<taxi@flinet.com>, offers his thoughts on various matters recently raised
by NABOKV-L subscribers.
------------------------------------------------
SUBJECTS: _CHEREZ_ CHUR, LUZHIN'S LOO, LYNE'S _LO_ AND SOME _ALIA_.
IF I MAY, I'LL EMERGE FOR A MOMENT FROM MY _UEDINENIE_ (IN THIS CASE, A
SOLITARY RETREAT INTO WORK; IN LUZHIN'S CASE A TOTALLY PERSONAL AND
ORIGINAL TERM FOR "TOILET," SO, AS SEVERAL NABOKV-L EXPERTS HAVE
ALREADY ASCERTAINED, THERE IS NO Dal' OR Oxford THAT CAN HELP) INTO
CHUR, WITHOUT, I HOPE, PUTTING A HOCKEY SKATE IN MY MOUTH. MEANWHILE
MY HOMONYM, RUSSIAN-BORN AND APPARENTLY NOT VERY LITERARY, APPEARS TO
HAVE BEEN FARMED OUT BY THE HAWKS TO INDIANAPOLIS. HE'LL DOUBTLESS TURN
UP AGAIN, AND, TO ANSWER ANOTHER QUERY, WE MAY EVENTUALLY FIND OUT IF
THERE'S ANY CONNECTION.
THE NABOKVELLIANS WHO TOUCHED ON Chur AND _chur_ ARE RIGHT IN SO FAR AS
THEIR COMMENTS GO: CHUR IS, FOR SWITZERLAND, A FAIRLY LARGE
(POP. 33,000) BURG SOME 300 KM NE OF MONTREUX, IN THE GRISONS
(CENTRAL-EASTERN SWITZERLAND), THE POINT OF DEPARTURE FOR MOUNTAIN
RAILWAYS TO RESORTS SUCH AS AROSA AND FLIMS, AND, IN GENERAL, A
"GATEWAY" TO THE ENGADINE. ACCORDING TO FATHER'S NOTATIONS IN A
HALLWAG GUIDEBOOK AND ON HIS PERSONAL MAPS, MY PARENTS HAD OCCASION
TO TRAVERSE IT ON THEIR SUMMER TRAVELS, BUT THEY DOUBTLESS KNEW OF ITS
EXISTENCE BEFORE THAT.
AND OF COURSE _CHUR_, IN RUSSIAN - - PRONOUNCED AS IT APPEARS - - IS AN
ELDERLY WORD MEANING "GET THEE HENCE" (ANOTHER FAMILIAR EXAMPLE IS
Boris Godunov's "Chur, detya," to the Tsarevich's apparition), WITH
RELATED SENSES SUCH AS "SILENCE!" IT ALSO MEANS "BOUNDARY," A SENSE IN
WHICH IT SURVIVES IN MODERN USAGE IN THE LOCUTION _CHEREZCHUR_ (BEYOND
THE PALE, HENCE "EXCESSIVELY").
VN VERY PROBABLY HAD ALREADY TAKEN MENTAL NOTE OF THE AMUSING _VISUAL_
COINCIDENCE INVOLVING THE PRINCIPAL, SWISS-GERMAN, SPELLING, BUT IT IS
UNLIKELY HE INTENDED ANY HIDDEN NEXUS BETWEEN IT AND THE RUSSIAN WORD.
THE NAME IS PRONOUNCED "KUR" IN SWISS GERMAN, VERY MUCH LIKE OUR GOOD
OL' WESTERN BEER. IN SWISS FRENCH THE NAME IS Coire, IN SWISS ITALIAN
Coira, AND IN ROMANSCH Coera, WITH A TENDENCY FOR THE INITIAL LETTER TO
MUTATE TO AN ASPIRATED "H" IN SOME OF THE SEVEN BASIC VARIETIES OF
ROMANSCH AND IN SUNDRY LOCAL DIALECTS DERIVING FROM THE FOUR BASIC SWISS
LANGUAGES, BUT NEVER TO THE SOUND AN AMERICAN EYE WOULD MOST COMMONLY
ASSOCIATE WITH "CH" UNLESS HE WERE A CHOIRMASTER. FATHER WAS CAREFUL
ABOUT SUCH THINGS, ALTHOUGH, OF COURSE, EVERYONE INCLUDING HOMER AND
HOMAIS SOMETIMES NODS, AND I CANNOT TOTALLY VOUCH WITH REGARD TO A DASH
OF _TRIPLE-ENTENDRE_. BUT A MORE LIKELY FUNCTION OF THE NAME IN THE
NOVEL IS THE HANDY ASSONANCE BETWEEN "(THE HOTEL) MAJESTIC IN CHUR" AND
THE MISHEARD "(A HOTEL) FANTASTIC IN BLUR" (PRECEDING PAGE IN THE NEW
PENGUIN) - - A NABOKOVIAN WAY OF DEPICTING RAPTURE, STRESS, ANGUISH, OR
FATIGUE, OCCASIONED IN THIS CASE BY A FIRST-IMPRESSION RESEMBLANCE
BETWEEN THE HOTEL GIRL'S NAPE AND ARMANDE'S ON HUGH'S ARRIVAL BY TAXI
FROM TRUX, BUT PRESENT ALSO IN CHARACTERS' BLURRING SENSES IN _THE
ENCHANTER_ (WHERE DROWSINESS DOUBLES THE CAT IN THE GIRL'S EYES, WHERE
APPROACHING BLISS PLAYS TRICKS ON "ARTHUR," WHERE REAL TRUCKS THUNDER
THROUGH THE NIGHT), AND ELSEWHERE. AND THE IMPORTANT TOWN OF CHUR WOULD
REPRESENT A PERFECTLY LOGICAL PROMOTION FOR A REGIONAL HOTEL MANAGER. I
HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO PERUSE FATHER'S DIARIES FOR DETAILS AND SOME PEARL
MAY YET TURN UP TO CONFUTE ME. THE THING DID, OF COURSE, CAUSE A
PROBLEM WHEN I WAS TRANSLATING _TR TH_ INTO ITALIAN' ITALIAN.
IF ONE TRULY PERSISTS ONE CAN FIND CLUES - - DELIBERATE, SUBLIMINAL, OR
VERY OFTEN FORTUITOUS AND UNPLANTED BY ENTOMOLOGISTS OR SAILORS - -
ALMOST EVERYWHERE, SUCH AS THE PROPOSAL THAT "YOSEMITE" CONTAINS
"SEMITE"; OR ONE THAT I HAVE NEVER SEEN BUT THAT MAY HAVE ELUDED ME IN
SOME LEARNED JOURNAL - - "Zembla" WITHIN "RESEMBLANCE".
I SHALL FINALLY SEE _LOLITA_ IN HER NEW GUISE IN LATE APRIL, NOT IN
MOVIELAND BUT IN A REMOTE, HIGH-SECURITY NORTHEASTERN HAMLET, AN IDEA
SUGGESTED BY THE THEORY THAT HUMBERT AND HAMLET WERE BASED ON EACH OTHER
WHEN JOHN RAY, ACTUALLY THE TEARY SINGER JOHNNY MOONLIGHTING AS A
SHRINK, INSPIRED BY A NEWLY FOUND TS OF _THE ENCHANTER_, WAS COMPOSING
_LOLITA_ WHILE UBIQUIXOTIC KINBOTE WAS DEVELOPING THE EMBRYONIC _SOLUS
REX_ INTO _PALE FIRE_.
NOBODY NEEDS TO DUCK, BUT IN MY HUMBLE OPINION THE POEM IN _PALE FIRE_,
WHATEVER ITS PURPOSE WITHIN THE NOVEL, NOT ONLY IS SUPERB IN ITSELF BUT,
IF READ ATTENTIVELY, CONTAINS, AMID MUCH ELSE, AN INVERSE MIRRORING IN
POOR SHADE'S TRAGEDY OF THE HAPPY CHILDHOOD THAT V & V SUCCEEDED IN
GIVING THEIR SON, AND FASCINATING INSIGHTS INTO THE "COMBINATIONAL
DELIGHTS" OF NABOKOV'S OWN CREATIVE PROCESS.
BRIAN WALTER SAYS SOME INTERESTING THINGS, AND HIS IDEA OF A DIAGRAM
RECALLS VN'S ELEGANTLY PICTORIAL ANALYSIS OF BELY'S PROSODY.
THE ESTATE, WHICH DOES POSSESS A LITTLE EQUIPMENT AND A LITTLE KNOW-HOW,
PROBABLY LACKS THE EXPERTISE AND, ALAS, THE TIME, TO CHURN OUT A FULLY
LINKED HTML EDITION OF _PALE FIRE_ IN TWO WEEKS. BUT TOM BOLT'S IDEA IS
INTRIGUING. IF THE ESTATE COULD BE GIVEN A MORE DETAILED IDEA OF SUCH A
PROJECT, IT COULD PONDER AND CONFER WITH AGENT AND PUBLISHER.
TO ANSWER VITALY KUPISK, I TOOK THAT PHOTO OF FATHER ON THE VIDEMANETTE,
IN ROUGEMONT NEAR GSTAAD, ON A RARE DAY WHEN HE SHARED SOME MEMORABLE
THOUGHTS WITH ME. I GRANTED _THE ECONOMIST_ PERMISSION, BUT NEVER
RECEIVED THE PROMISED ISSUE SO I COULD GET A GOOD IDEA OF THE CONTEXT.
THE THINGS THEY'RE MOST DILIGENT ABOUT MAILING ARE SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS.
AS I THINK I HAVE MENTIONED, WHILE I'M GENERALLY AGAINST BANNING, THAT
_LOLITA_ TRAVESTY THAT HAS BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS OF RUSSIA'S STAGES
TRULY DESERVES IT, ON PURELY ARTISTIC GROUNDS. THERE IS ALSO A GOOD
BIT OF DECEPTION HERE: ALBEE'S GROTESQUE IS WIDELY ATTRIBUTED TO VN'S
PEN, AND NEITHER ALBEE NOR HIS AGENTS DO MUCH TO DISPEL THE NOTION.
IT'S ALL THE RESULT OF ONE OF OUR BIG MISTAKES - - GETTING INVOLVED
WITH A COUPLE OF GENTS WHOSE INITIAL PROJECT TURNED FROM PROMISING TO
VERY SHADY. I'LL TELL THE STORY ONE DAY.
BEST,
DN