-------- Original Message --------
Dear experts on Nabokov,
I ask for clarification on the subject "who killed Shade in Pale fire".
After second reading it seems obvious to me that it was Kinbote (or
Botkin)
himself,
whereas Gradus-Grey was another phantom of his mad imagination. (Of
course, I assume that Kinbote and Shade
both exist in the world of the book as distinct people.)
It seems however that this possibility is never discussed in various
critical articles I managed to find.
Since the idea is sort of on the surface, probably there are some ready
arguments against it.
I have my own arguments, but would prefer to know experts' opinion.