tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436417288060370638.post4017533621399489884..comments2024-01-29T03:20:32.291-05:00Comments on ...... SHARP ELVES SOCIETY ...... Jane Austen's Shadow Stories: Jane Austen, Mark Twain and Vladimir NabokovArnie Perlsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01720424361279466002noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436417288060370638.post-33686226929088387742012-06-11T01:49:01.221-04:002012-06-11T01:49:01.221-04:00Sonya, thank you for taking the time to comment---...Sonya, thank you for taking the time to comment---I am sure you will not be surprised that I hold 100% firm in my opinion about Nabokov's covert (actually not so covert) admiration for, and frequent emulation of, Jane Austen's writing, in particular for her infinitely subtle and often savage irony, and her addiction to punning and wordplay.<br /><br />As for Twain, what I did not mention in the above post is that Twain is famous in Austenian circles as being harshly critical of her writing, mostly based on comments he made in letters to his good friend Wiliam Dean Howells, who was a rabid Janeite.<br /><br />So I see Nabokov, who surely knew Twain's writing and critical opinions very well indeed, as emulating Twain in writing a mock-critique of Jane Austen, which is actually, when viewed through the proper ironic lens, a veiled homage.<br /><br />And Nabokov decided the best way to show his covert admiration for Austen, and also for Twain's covert admiration for Austen, was to pull the leg of a good friend in private correspondence, something Jane Ausgten also did a lot in her own letters.<br /><br />So there....<br /><br />Cheers, ARNIE PERLSTEIN<br />@JaneAustenCode on TwitterArnie Perlsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720424361279466002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1436417288060370638.post-1009734328507687892012-06-11T01:37:05.732-04:002012-06-11T01:37:05.732-04:00I disagree that Nabokov was a Jane Austen-ite, nor...I disagree that Nabokov was a Jane Austen-ite, nor do I think you proved that his first comment was anything but sincere. I confess I don't see what the Mark Twain quote has to do with it.Sonyanoreply@blogger.com