Subject
Pale Fire and D.F.Wallace's novel (fwd)
Date
Body
From: Vladimir Mylnikov <mylnikov@public.hh.nm.cn>
Mentioning the name of David Forster Wallace and his novel 'Infinite =
Jest' highly provoked my interest of this kind; I wonder is there any =
connection between structure, themes and subject of the mentioned =
novel, being composed as text with end-notes or (apparently written by =
the author himself) and the title of the texts of such type. Personally =
I think that there is.=09
Although the title of Nabokov's Pale Fire does not deal directly to =
this sort of connection, however, major themes and ideas of the novel =
definitely apply to the thought of Infinity in its various aspects. I =
suggest that one of the meaning of the main subject of Pale Fire - =
Zembla - comprises the idea of Alphabet (the first and the last letters =
of the word - Z and A in backward reading). Then the poem ' Pale Fire' =
is also closely related to the idea of infinity: the last verse should =
be rhymed with the first one (the same structural model as in Zembla). =
Furthermore, I suggest that the title Pale Fire ( in terms of its =
semantic aspect is perfectly connected with the poetic construction of =
the novel - relationship between text and its commentary - what is =
written and how it is should be read. In other words, Pale and Fire, as =
two thematic subjects, are put in the accordance with the relationship =
between Shade and Kinbote, Light and Warmth (Pale Fire), Poem and =
Commentary.
I am aware that probably some points of my suggestions sound unfounded =
but if someone is interested in the subject I think I can prove them. =
Finally, I want to mention one more author in this context. It is Dmitry =
Galkovsky. His novel 'Infinite Cul de Sac' published in the early =
90th, was also written in the form of the end-notes. To a certain extent =
he made his book be read in the most radical way: the major text is =
presented only in the form of the notes (commentary) and the basic story =
does not exist at all, or in other words , it is only exist in the =
readers head. So, the situation, named ' what to read and how to read is =
turned to its opposite. Again, I'd like to put a question: is it a pure =
coincidence that the theme of Infinity closely related to the texts =
written in the form of the commentary or notes? I will appreciate any =
ideas. To me the title of D.F.Wallace's novel 'Infinite Jest and =
D.Galkovsky's 'Infinite Cul de Sac ' amusingly correspond to the =
Nabokov's witty remark that 'the difference between comic and cosmic is =
based on one hushing sound'.(Sorry for probable incorrect quotation - =
the text is unavailable).
Thanks,
Vladimir Mylnikov. China.
Mentioning the name of David Forster Wallace and his novel 'Infinite =
Jest' highly provoked my interest of this kind; I wonder is there any =
connection between structure, themes and subject of the mentioned =
novel, being composed as text with end-notes or (apparently written by =
the author himself) and the title of the texts of such type. Personally =
I think that there is.=09
Although the title of Nabokov's Pale Fire does not deal directly to =
this sort of connection, however, major themes and ideas of the novel =
definitely apply to the thought of Infinity in its various aspects. I =
suggest that one of the meaning of the main subject of Pale Fire - =
Zembla - comprises the idea of Alphabet (the first and the last letters =
of the word - Z and A in backward reading). Then the poem ' Pale Fire' =
is also closely related to the idea of infinity: the last verse should =
be rhymed with the first one (the same structural model as in Zembla). =
Furthermore, I suggest that the title Pale Fire ( in terms of its =
semantic aspect is perfectly connected with the poetic construction of =
the novel - relationship between text and its commentary - what is =
written and how it is should be read. In other words, Pale and Fire, as =
two thematic subjects, are put in the accordance with the relationship =
between Shade and Kinbote, Light and Warmth (Pale Fire), Poem and =
Commentary.
I am aware that probably some points of my suggestions sound unfounded =
but if someone is interested in the subject I think I can prove them. =
Finally, I want to mention one more author in this context. It is Dmitry =
Galkovsky. His novel 'Infinite Cul de Sac' published in the early =
90th, was also written in the form of the end-notes. To a certain extent =
he made his book be read in the most radical way: the major text is =
presented only in the form of the notes (commentary) and the basic story =
does not exist at all, or in other words , it is only exist in the =
readers head. So, the situation, named ' what to read and how to read is =
turned to its opposite. Again, I'd like to put a question: is it a pure =
coincidence that the theme of Infinity closely related to the texts =
written in the form of the commentary or notes? I will appreciate any =
ideas. To me the title of D.F.Wallace's novel 'Infinite Jest and =
D.Galkovsky's 'Infinite Cul de Sac ' amusingly correspond to the =
Nabokov's witty remark that 'the difference between comic and cosmic is =
based on one hushing sound'.(Sorry for probable incorrect quotation - =
the text is unavailable).
Thanks,
Vladimir Mylnikov. China.