NPPF Comm 2: Dr. Notebook

[Don Corathers]

Hold on, there, pardner. The thesis of the paper is that Kinbote is Botkin's
creation and that Botkin (bodkin, note correct spelling) is "the instrument
Nabokov uses to pierce the material of the novel without causing any snags
or runs that would give away his presence too easily, allowing his entry
into the text to remain stealthy."

I've only had time to read half and skim half, but I don't think there's
anything in there about about Kinbote as author of the poem. Kaplan
addresses single author theories very briefly at the bottom of page 1
(online--if you print it it'll be page 5), and includes Shade as a free
agent under contract to Nabokov.

Don



----- Original Message -----
From: "David Morris" <fqmorris at yahoo.com>
To: "s~Z" <keithsz at concentric.net>; <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 6:03 PM
Subject: Re: NPPF Comm 2: Dr. Notebook


>
> --- s~Z <keithsz at concentric.net> wrote:
> > http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/kaplan1.htm
>
> Having only skimmed this article, understanding Botkin to be the
uber-author of
> Pale Fire, a fictional third, hidden (mostly) character who wrote both
poem and
> commentary, and who invented both Shade and Kinbote (and Charles), I have
to
> admit I'm left unsatasfied (like Keith, but not necesarily for the same
> reasons), but not necesarily unconvinced.  This uber-author is essentially
> Nabokov himself, once removed into a novel.  But does this fancy footwork
> relieve the author of responsibility to make "his" fictional world
complete in
> its own right?  If this reading is correct, it should only be a lesser
game
> inside the bigger nut we're trying to crack, IMHO.
>
> David Morris
>
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