Thursday, May 27, 2004
The New York Times > Magazine > The Way We Live Now: Who Invented Lolita?
In the earlier work, as in the later, a first-person male narrator describes an obsession with a young girl named Lolita that entails long travels and ends in death. Maar finds the coincidence of plot, narrative and name ''striking.'' He does not accuse Nabokov of plagiarism, since ''he was a genius on his own.'' (As some are too rich to steal, apparently, others are too smart to crib.) Maar prefers the word ''cryptomnesia,'' a process by which things are learned, forgotten and then mistaken for original inspirations when recalled. Since Nabokov lived in Berlin from 1922 to 1937, Maar asks, could he have been under the ''stimulus'' of von Lichberg's story? If so, what does that tell us about one of the last half-century's most famous -- and notorious -- works of fiction?
Now that's fascinating. I wrote an essay on Lolita and C+P actually that I got a good grade on, should post it for the edification of those who are interested in.
Now that's fascinating. I wrote an essay on Lolita and C+P actually that I got a good grade on, should post it for the edification of those who are interested in.
