Yes, very nice indeed, and I wish it was
mine -- it's from the same poem ("An Evening of Russian Poetry") in which
VN speaks of that "Russian something" in West Virginia.
Of course I meant the beaver business as a joke,
but I love Brian Jobe's notion, which I interpret liberally to mean: Wherever
goes the Great Beaver, there lies the Beaver State. In fact, I can't
improve on his assertion that "New Wye is located in Pale Fire, nowhere
else." That's what I was getting at by starting my post with "If New Wye
must be anywhere..." While it's all good fun to scrutinize the text for
clues, the world of Pale Fire (most especially including Zembla) is a magical
creation of VN's imagination.
Oh, and Matt Roth: Yes, I see what you mean about
"descent"; good thought. Diction aside, though, if Botkin is important to the
story of Pale Fire, surely he has to be an exile like Kinbote -- otherwise,
what's the point of him? Would a regular American guy go mad in that
fashion? In my opinion there's a lot that still needs clarifying about
Botkin's role in Pale Fire, but at the very least, don't we need to view him as
a "real Russian" exile, in order for him to stand in for/stand behind/be the
actual personage/(choose your phrase) vis a vis the "unreal Zemblan"
exile Kinbote?
Regards,
J. Morris
That description, "between an orchard and a veil of tepid rain" is very
nice indeed, but New Wye is located in Pale Fire, nowhere else, no
more than Cedarn is actually in Utah or Montana. Kinbote's final motel
may well have been in Oregon, but without a doubt it was in "the Beaver
State", and my guess is that the nickname is probably more important than a
geographical and political region within the U.S. to which it may or may
not correspond.
Best,
Brian Jobe