 |
|
     |
|
|
|
Before Nabokov wrote his scandalous book, one Heinz von Lichberg had published an 18-page story about a middle-age man who falls in love with the daughter of the woman who runs the boarding house where he lives. He has sex, and in the end the girl dies, while the narrator remains alone forever. Here's the kicker: the name of Lichberg's nymphet was Lolita!
Michael Maar tells the extraordinary story of this earlier Lolita in the April 2 issue of the TLS, and concludes that the most likely scenario is that Nabokov had read Lichberg's story, and forgot he had read it. When he came to write of his Lolita, the Lichberg story was in the back of his mind, as Borges's Pierre Menard said of the Quixote, not as the recollection of a book read but as the unformed conception of a book not yet written.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 05:00 PM
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
