Subject
Re: Nabokov and Women (fwd)
Date
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 03 Feb 1995 17:40:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: BETH SWEENEY <SWEENEY@HCACAD.HOLYCROSS.EDU>
I have found the exchanges about Nabokov's female characters quite
interesting. One aspect of Nabokov's being a "masculine" writer, as
Charles Nicol says, is that his female characters are usually presented
only in relation to men--as object of desire, belle dame sans merci, muse,
etc. In this sense, a feminist reading of a novel like LOLITA seems
especially interesting, necessary, and appropriate. The situation is
complicated, however, because LOLITA itself already anticipates, in some
ways, a feminist reading of Lolita's plight.
It would be interesting to conceive of a feminist reading of Nabokov that
would focus on masculinity. How does a given narrator define masculinity,
and how does his sense of masculinity affect his story and the way he
tells it? It's interesting to think about THE EYE, DESPAIR, and SEBASTIAN
KNIGHT in this regard, for example.
Date: Fri, 03 Feb 1995 17:40:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: BETH SWEENEY <SWEENEY@HCACAD.HOLYCROSS.EDU>
I have found the exchanges about Nabokov's female characters quite
interesting. One aspect of Nabokov's being a "masculine" writer, as
Charles Nicol says, is that his female characters are usually presented
only in relation to men--as object of desire, belle dame sans merci, muse,
etc. In this sense, a feminist reading of a novel like LOLITA seems
especially interesting, necessary, and appropriate. The situation is
complicated, however, because LOLITA itself already anticipates, in some
ways, a feminist reading of Lolita's plight.
It would be interesting to conceive of a feminist reading of Nabokov that
would focus on masculinity. How does a given narrator define masculinity,
and how does his sense of masculinity affect his story and the way he
tells it? It's interesting to think about THE EYE, DESPAIR, and SEBASTIAN
KNIGHT in this regard, for example.