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Re: An interesting interview of Nabokov in French
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Maurice Couturier: "While writing my new book ("Nabokov, ou la tentation française"; it hopefully will come out this year) in which I study Nabokov's brand of French, his many stays in France, the circumstances in which "Lolita" was published and censored in France, Nabokov's strong opinions about French authors from Ronsard to Robbe-Grillet, and the reception of his works in France, I came across a very interesting interview he gave to "L'Express" in 1959 which I would like to
share, in my translation, with the Nabokovians..."
JM: A few months ago I came across an information related to Ronsard (it was posted in the Nab-L, Oct. 2010, #110) in which Maurice Couturier affirms that Nabokov may not have been familiar with Ronsard's "chanson," where the term "nymphette" appears*.
In the interesting interview he generously translated and shared with the List we find that Nabokov was familiar with "a sonnet" by Ronsard, but that he considered that it was not a genuine "nymphetic" coinage, as it was in the case of his word in connection to the particular kind of "nymphet" he describes in "Lolita". I wonder if Couturier could expand on his point about Ronsard's priority in the use of "nymphette," if Nabokov's claim ( "an infrigement of my rights") is justified or not.
extracted item from the interview given to L'Express in Paris - 1959 and translated by Maurice Couturier:
- Did you invent the word "nymphet"?
V. Nabokov: Yes, I did. There was already the word "nymph". And Ronsard, who likes Latin diminutives, used the word "nymphette" in a sonnet. But not in the sense I used it. For him it was a nymph who was gentle....
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* cf. Maurice Couturier -« The Distinguished Writer vs the Child », Cycnos, Volume 10 n°1, mis en ligne le 13 juin 2008, URL : http://revel.unice.fr/cycnos/index.html?id=1287. " A pity, by the way, that Mademoiselle did not read all of Ronsard's poetry to him. He would never have claimed, as he did in a letter, that he had invented the French word "nymphette" : "I am informed that a French motion picture company is about to make a picture entitled 'The Nymphets' ('Les Nymphettes'). The use of this title is an infringement of my rights since this term was invented by me for the main character in my novel Lolita and has now become completely synonymous with Lolita in the minds of readers throughout the world."17 The French word appeared in the late fifteenth century and was later used by Ronsard in one of his "Chansons"[...] The opening lines could be translated as follows: "Little gamesome nymph,/ Nymphet I idolize." It is always tricky to claim one's rights upon a word, especially a foreign word which is easily derived from a very common one. Nabokov knew his Ronsard, of course, and he quoted him in Lolita, but apparently he did not know this "chanson" which was set to music by Clément Jannequin. It is thanks to him, though, that the word got a new lease on life in French in the very special meaning we know. "
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share, in my translation, with the Nabokovians..."
JM: A few months ago I came across an information related to Ronsard (it was posted in the Nab-L, Oct. 2010, #110) in which Maurice Couturier affirms that Nabokov may not have been familiar with Ronsard's "chanson," where the term "nymphette" appears*.
In the interesting interview he generously translated and shared with the List we find that Nabokov was familiar with "a sonnet" by Ronsard, but that he considered that it was not a genuine "nymphetic" coinage, as it was in the case of his word in connection to the particular kind of "nymphet" he describes in "Lolita". I wonder if Couturier could expand on his point about Ronsard's priority in the use of "nymphette," if Nabokov's claim ( "an infrigement of my rights") is justified or not.
extracted item from the interview given to L'Express in Paris - 1959 and translated by Maurice Couturier:
- Did you invent the word "nymphet"?
V. Nabokov: Yes, I did. There was already the word "nymph". And Ronsard, who likes Latin diminutives, used the word "nymphette" in a sonnet. But not in the sense I used it. For him it was a nymph who was gentle....
...........................................................................................
* cf. Maurice Couturier -« The Distinguished Writer vs the Child », Cycnos, Volume 10 n°1, mis en ligne le 13 juin 2008, URL : http://revel.unice.fr/cycnos/index.html?id=1287. " A pity, by the way, that Mademoiselle did not read all of Ronsard's poetry to him. He would never have claimed, as he did in a letter, that he had invented the French word "nymphette" : "I am informed that a French motion picture company is about to make a picture entitled 'The Nymphets' ('Les Nymphettes'). The use of this title is an infringement of my rights since this term was invented by me for the main character in my novel Lolita and has now become completely synonymous with Lolita in the minds of readers throughout the world."17 The French word appeared in the late fifteenth century and was later used by Ronsard in one of his "Chansons"[...] The opening lines could be translated as follows: "Little gamesome nymph,/ Nymphet I idolize." It is always tricky to claim one's rights upon a word, especially a foreign word which is easily derived from a very common one. Nabokov knew his Ronsard, of course, and he quoted him in Lolita, but apparently he did not know this "chanson" which was set to music by Clément Jannequin. It is thanks to him, though, that the word got a new lease on life in French in the very special meaning we know. "
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/