Re: great minds think alike
J J R (jrovira@juno.com)
Wed, 16 Sep 1998 16:25:27 -0400 (EDT)
You know, I've always thought Nabokov was a jackass :)
BUT, that's besides the point. I think N can justly say that he wasn't
thinking of German impressionism, social commentary, or a grand message
when he wrote his novel. Wouldn't argue with him there. Critics who
would say, then, that Nabokov was influenced by German impressionists in
the writing of this novel would look pretty stupid :) Course, that's
what happens when you try to say something about the author based upon
his or her text :)
But, that doesn't mean the novel doesn't "say" something about any or all
of this.
He's claiming a form of ownership over his work that he just doesn't
have.
Jim
P.S. The author becoming the first "reader" of a text puts him or her on
the same footing as all other readers of a text. I trust an author to be
more familiar with the details of their text than any other reader, but I
don't necessarily trust the author to have the last say on its meaning.
On Wed, 16 Sep 1998 13:07:34 -0500 Matthew_Stevenson@baylor.edu writes:
>hello all. i'm still around, just lurking for the past several
>months. i ran
>across a quote from nabokov that i think might express some kinship
>with
>salinger's feelings for his work. in making this connection i'm
>thinking of
>the preface to S:AI (i think) with the dedication to "anyone who reads
>and
>runs."
>
>this quote is from nabokov's own introduction to the 1965 english
>edition of
>his novel, _Despair_.
>
>"_Despair_, in kinship with the rest of my books, has no social
>comment to
>make, no message to bring in its teeth. It does not uplift the
>spiritual
>organ of man, nor does it show humanity the right exit. It contains
>far fewer
>'ideas' than do those rich vulgar novels that are acclaimed so
>hysterically in
>the short echo-walk between the ballyhoo and the hoot. The
>attractively
>shaped object or Wiener-schnitzel dream that the eager Freudian may
>think he
>distinguishes in the remoteness of my wastes will turn out to be on
>closer
>inspection a derisive mirage organized by my agents. Let me add, just
>in
>case, that experts on literary 'schools' should wisely refrain this
>time from
>casually dragging in 'the influence of German Impressionists': I do
>not know
>German and have never read the Impressionists--whoever they are."
>
>i'm not suggesting that salinger was influenced by nabokov (though he
>may have
>been, the first english translation of Despair came out in 1937. i
>don't know
>about his other works.). i'm just pointing out what i consider an
>interesting
>coincidence of great literary minds thinking alike.
>
>--matt
>
>
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