The focus now shifts to the moral of Nabokov’s Pale Fire: a profound attempt of capturing humanity’s perturbation with mortality and the relationship Art (specifically literature) plays. Many literary critics have dissected and attempted precise explication of the novel.[1] Among them, Bryan Boyd is often the most quoted, read critic of Nabokov’s work and life—and specifically his novel Pale Fire.[2] In his 1997 essay, “Shade and Shape of Pale Fire”, Boyd re-evaluates his previous “Shadean” stance—the notion that the entire Pale Fire (i.e. Foreword, Poem, Commentary, Index) was all written by John Shade and not portions by Charles Kinbote—and adopts a more balanced view of who wrote what, as well as the potential moral.[3] In providing analysis of Pale Fire some objections to Boyd’s conclusions will be raised. For the most part, though, Boyd’s observations and conclusions are agreeable.[4]
Mirrors. One prevalent motif throughout the novel is the imagery of mirrors. Subtle at first, one slowly begins to realize the mastery of Nabokov’s work at play. Mirrors, of course, reflect an image in reverse. Nabokov applied this to his novel in several ways. Be it in the reversing of words or names (Hazel Shade’s “mirror words” and twisting T.S. Eliot as “toilest” and Jakob Gradus—Shade’s eventual assassin—becomes Sudarg of Bokay the “mirror genius”), or places (Kinbote’s wild kingdom of Zembla juxtaposed with Shade’s passive New Wye), or people (Shade and Kinbote are very much opposites).[5] Staying within the idea of reflections, the reader must take one step further and allow for self-reflection. Fictional literature is a reflection of one’s reality (as both the author intended and the reader sees it). Upon examining fiction, the reader should reflect and consider the possible relationship literature has with the world in which he or she exists. Through examining the mirror world, one gains a better understanding of one’s own. This fact plays a crucial role in Pale Fire.[6]
Death. Throughout the novel the reader is presented with death. Either in Kinbote’s Foreword (the recollection of Shade’s death, or hinting his own potential suicide), in Shade’s magnum opus (where the imagery of death permeates the poem—especially with Hazel Shade), or in Kinbote’s Commentary (mainly in the narrative of Gradus’s westward journey), the idea of death is never too far from the reader’s mind. The very first sentence of Pale Fire introduces Shade’s death “…(born July 5, 1898, died July 21, 1959)…”.[7] In the poem, the fist line reads: “I was the shadow of the waxwing slain” another introduction to death—also another example of Nabokov’s double: Shade is the shadow of the waxwing slain.[8] The remembrance of Hazel Shade in the poem and Kinbote’s notes reflect thoughts of the afterlife.[9] Nabokov consistently relays this message of death. Here the moral begins to show itself. The reader cannot escape death. Even as Kinbote flees from the majestic Zembla to the bucolic New Wye, he cannot. He brings death with him.[10] Gradus is the personification of death. And even in the suburban Arcadia, death is there too. This is exactly what Shade tries to communicate to Kinbote in his poem, but not to fear death. Boyd suggests that the first line of the poem should be read as the last, suggesting life after death.[11] Though the first line may double as the last, it might not necessarily point towards afterlife. What could just as easily be true about the cyclicality of life is that death plays a part, and that the two are not mutually exclusive, so one should embrace both in toto. Embracing mortality is embracing one’s humanity.
Whatever the interpretations might be, and Nabokov left enough room for many, what is unequivocal is Nabokov’s success at revealing humanity’s struggle with their least favorite attribute: impermanence: and where Art (in this case literature) goes along in the endless endeavor. That is Pale Fire’s greatness.
[1] For further reading consideration: Will Norman, Duncan White, Transitional Nabokov, (London, Peter Lang Publishing: 2009); Geoffrey W. Erwin, Pale Fire: A Novel of Mirrors: Reflections and Resemblances—A Study, (Washington DC, Georgetown University Press: 1990); L.S. Dembo, Nabokov: The Man and His Work, (Madison, Wisconsin University Press: 1967); Paul Duncan Morris, Vladimir Nabokov: Poetry and the Lyric Voice, (Toronto, University of Toronto Press: 2010); Bryan Boyd, Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years, (Princeton, Princeton University Press: 1993).
[2] In his 2001 publishing of Nabokov’s Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery, Boyd recants his previous Shadean analysis in The American Years (1993) and provides a more accurate analysis of Nabokov’s novel. The bulk of Nabokov’s Pale Fire centers around the ideas promoted in his essay “Shade and Shape in Pale Fire” (1997), which most of this criticism will be focused.
[3] For the entire essay: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/boydpf1.htm
[4] Boyd makes very valid points. By no means is his analysis to be disregarded. However, neither are they to be taken without incredulity. In this phase of critical analysis, the boundaries do not always have to be agreed upon.
[5] Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire, (New York, Vintage: 1989), 80, 193, 314
[6] Nabokov enjoyed playing with the idea of doubles, and often used the idea of “mirrors” in his novels—especially later on in his career. For further reading: Despair, Lolita, Ada or Ador, Look at the Harlequins!
[7] Nabokov, 11.
[8] Ibid. 33.; Boyd makes this argument in his essay “Shade and Shape,” 6.
[9] Boyd makes an interesting point in his essay (17) that Nabokov hints at supernaturalism in relation to Hazel Shade’s encounter with the phantom or phantasm that predicts the death of her father (188). Perhaps, but this critic is dubious.
[10] An interesting connection can be made between Kinbote’s escape from Europe to the New World in search of a better life—mainly void from death—and Pastoralism. What is Pastoralism? Without losing too much focus: in the 1950s and 60s, two literary scholars, and progenitors of the American Studies field, Henry Nash Smith (with his book Virgin Land) and Leo Marx (The Machine in the Garden) studied apparent themes within literature concerning the New World (and eventually the United States) as an untamed land with infinite possibilities. These themes would form the notion of Pastoralism (and would eventually be studied and taught within the “Myth and Symbol” school of study for the nascent American Studies). To be succinct: Pastoralism is linked to escapism, and eventually leads back to humanity’s struggle with mortality. Pastoralism plays a significant role in Americanism.
[11] Boyd, 26.
No comments:
Post a Comment