But remember, also, that Kinbote may indeed
be Shade himself...so what does this say about Shade? Is Shade another VNt,
working against Pnin instead of for him? Dear Mr
Rabiee,
Since Shade = Kinbote in my pet theory, I have given your
question some thought.
If Shade = Kinbote is true the way I understand
it, Kinbote only has an existence separate from Shade for a comparatively short
spell of time (July 21 1959 - late October 1959). Prior to Shade's "death"
Kinbote only exists in "Zembla," somewhere in Shade's suppressed
sub-consciousness. But why would Shade resent Pnin, even
subconsciously?
VN (author) has made one person's name in Pale Fire
intriguingly ambiguous. Caroline Lukin, Shade's mother's maiden name, is
possibly, as Kinbote says, of English extraction. But Lukins exist in Russia as
well, so it is possible that "the american scholar of russian descent" is Shade.
If Shade harbors any jealousy towards Pnin, who apparently constitutes the whole
of the Russian Department, it does not become a conscious feeling until Shade's
stroke liberates the alter ego Kinbote who speaks Russian. Shade, in my theory,
has suppressed any knowledge of that language.
Shade never mentions Pnin
and is probably only marginally aware of his existence.