nº 17, November 2004 Departamento de Filología Inglesa Universidad de Alicante ISSN 0214-4808 ● CODEN RAEIEX Editor Emeritus Pedro Jesús Marcos Pérez Editors José Mateo Martínez and Francisco Yus Assistant Editor Judith Williams Editorial Board Asunción Alba (UNED) ● Enrique Alcaraz Varó (University of Alicante) ● Román Álvarez (University of Salamanca) ● Norman F. Blake (University of Sheffi eld) ● Juan de la Cruz (University of Málaga) ● Bernd Dietz (University of La Laguna) ● Angela Downing (University of Madrid, Complutense) ● Francisco Fernández (University of Valen cia) ● Fernando Galván (University of Alcalá) ● Francisco García Tortosa (University of Seville) ● Pedro Guardia (University of Barcelona) ● Ernst-August Gutt (SIL) ● Pilar Hidalgo (Univer sity of Málaga) ● Ramón López Ortega (University of Extremadura) ● Catalina Montes (Uni versity of Salamanca) ● Susana Onega (University of Zaragoza) ● Julio C. Santoyo (University of León) ● John Sinclair (Uni versity of Birmingham) Advisory Board Manuel Almagro Jiménez (University of Seville) ● José Antonio Álvarez Amorós (University of La Coruña) ● José Ramón Belda Medina (University of Alicante) ● Antonio Bravo García (University of Oviedo) ● Miguel Ángel Campos Pardillos (University of Alicante) ● Silvia Caporale (University of Alicante) ● Fernando Cerezal (University of Alcalá) ● Ángeles de la Concha (UNED) ● José Carnero González (Universi ty of Seville) ● Isabel Díaz Sánchez (University of Alicante) ● Teresa Gibert Maceda (UNED) ● Teresa Gómez Reus (University of Alicante) ● José S. Gómez Soliño (Universi ty of La Laguna) ● José Manuel González (University of Alicante) ● Brian Hughes (Uni versity of Alicante) ● Antonio Lillo Buades (University of Alicante) ● Lourdes López Ropero (University of Alicante) ● Cynthia Miguélez Giambruno (University of Alicante) ● Teresa Morell Moll (University of Alicante) ● Bryn Moody (University of Alicante) ● Ana Isabel Ojea López (University of Oviedo) ● Félix Rodríguez González (University of Alicante) ● Pamela Stoll Dougall (University of Alicante) ● María Socorro Suárez (University of Oviedo) ● Justine Tally (University of La Laguna) ● Francisco Javier Torres Ribelles (University of Alicante) ● M. Carmen África Vidal (University of Salamanca) The Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses is published yearly by the Department of English at the University of Alicante in volumes of approximately 250 pages. The journal aims to provide a forum for debate and an outlet for research involving all aspects of English Studies. NATURE AND FORMAT OF THE ARTICLES: The Revista would welcome ar ticles of the following kinds: (1) Articles on linguistics and ELT, literature, literary theory and criticism, history and other aspects of the culture of the English-speaking nations. Articles should not exceed nine thousand words in length. (2) Bibliogra phies of studies on very specifi c topics, providing a brief introduction and a list of basic publications. A concise index of contents may optionally be included. (3) Reviews and review articles on recently published books in the fi eld of English Stu dies. (4) Poetry translations (English-Spanish and Spanish-Eng lish). All articles submitted should follow the guidelines which can be obtained from the following Internet address: http://www.ua.es/dfi ng/publicaciones/raei/general/instrucciones.htm Manuscripts should include an abstract in English of about one hundred words in length. In normal circumstances, the editors will only consider for publication those contributions written in English and recorded on disk. Two print-outs of the contribution should also be included. Articles will only be returned at the authors’ express wish, if so requested at the time of submission. All correspondence should be addressed to: Revista Alicantina de Es tudios Ingleses, Departamen to de Filología Inglesa, Universidad de Alican te, P. O. Box 99, E-03080 ALICANTE (Spain) ● ADVERTISING: The journal will be pleased to carry ad vertise ments in either full-page (17 x 24 cms. approx.) or half-page (17 x 12 cms. ap prox.) format. Prices and informa tion are available on request at the above address ● EX CHANGES: The Revis ta Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses will be happy to make exchange arrangements with similar journals in the same fi eld. All such proposals should be made in writing to the above ad dress ● SUB SCRIP TIONS: The price of subscriptions for FOUR issues of the Revista Alican tina de Estudios Ingleses is as follows: (1) in Spain, 25€ for libraries and institutions, and 18€ for private subscribers; (2) in countries other than Spain, US $30 for libraries and institu tions, and US $25 for private sub scribers. Correspondence on subscriptions should be adressed to: Marcial Pons Librero San Sotero 6 28037 MADRID (Spain) [email protected] Tel.: +34 913043303 Fax: +34 913272367 Portada: Enrique Pérez Gabinete de Diseño de la Universidad de Alicante ISSN: 0214-4808 Depósito Legal: A-22-1989 Edición de: COMPOBELL, S.L. Murcia Estos créditos pertenecen a la edición impresa de la obra Edición electrónica: Consciousness as Creative Force and Prison Cell in Nabokov’s “Mademoiselle O” Claus-Peter Neumann Contents Consciousness as Creative Force and Prison Cell in Nabokov’s “Mademoiselle O” . 6 Abstract . 6 Works Cited . .23 Notes . .24 Revista Estudios Ingleses 17 (2004) Consciousness as Creative Force and Prison Cell in Nabokov’s “Mademoiselle O” Claus-Peter Neumann University of Zaragoza [email protected] Abstract Published in fi ve essentially different versions, on some occasions as short story, on others as part of his autobiography, Nabokov’s “Mad- emoiselle O” challenges the boundaries between the two genres. An analysis of how plot, titular character and narrative voice relate to each other in the 1947 version, published in identical form both as independ- ent short story and as chapter of the memoir Conclusive Evidence, yields insights into Nabokov’s conception of the interrelation between memory and imagination. In this conception human consciousness re- veals itself as a conditioning force acting on memory, suggesting the ontological impossibility of all autobiography. However, tensions creat- ed by textual passages that provide a contrast to the narrator’s version of events insinuate that consciousness has its limits, thus showing a CONTENTS 6 Consciousness as Creative Force and Prison Cell in Nabokov’s “Mademoiselle O” Claus-Peter Neumann way of saving memory from fi ction, albeit on a subliminal level that undermines the narrative voice itself. n the voluminous, multilingual, and diverse oeuvre of Vladimir Nabokov, two notions appear again and again, Ithus occupying an important position in the author’s aes- thetic world: imagination, together with its correlates design and conscious creation, on the one hand, and memory, on the other. That imagination is one of the human faculties most highly held by the author hardly needs any proof. Alfred Appel affi rms that Nabokov is “a writer who believes passionately in the primacy of the imagination” (quoted in Nabokov, 1973: 77). This frequently stated preference for imagination notwith- standing, Nabokov’s repeatedly rewriting of his own memoirs, resulting in three considerably different versions -Conclusive Evidence, Drugie Berega, and Speak, Memory- also suggests a singular preoccupation with the issue of recollection. Intui- tively, one could feel inclined to place the two phenomena of memory and imagination at opposite ends of the spectrum of human mental activity, or at least consider them complemen- tary, the former commonly (and innocently) being associated with experiences directly taken from real life, while the latter implies the act of fabrication. On the face of it, thus, each of CONTENTS 7 Revista Estudios Ingleses 17 (2004) the two concepts would fi nd ideal expression in one of two ostensibly discrete modes of writing: autobiography and fi c- tion, respectively. An exploration of Nabokov’s literary world, however, reveals that this apparent dichotomy of memory and imagination (as any dichotomy in these post-structurally enlightened times) is an all too convenient simplifi cation. Rather, in Nabokov’s oeuvre, the two notions enter into a complex relationship into which a short and ostensibly unassuming work of the author’s, “Mademoiselle O”, may provide considerable insight. Admittedly, “Mademoiselle O” may not be among the best- known of Nabokov’s writings, but its very unusual publishing history hints at peculiar processes that promise to make this story especially relevant for an analysis of the place of mem- ory, imagination, and their interrelations in Nabokov’s aesthet- ics. Initially written in French, “Mademoiselle O” fi rst appeared 1936 in the literary magazine Mesures as a memoir (see Fos- ter, 1993: 9), and was revised and translated into English by Nabokov seven years later for The Atlantic Monthly (Foster, 1993: 110). A second English version of “Mademoiselle O” was published in 1947 as part of Nabokov’s Nine Stories, a collection that provides a generic frame for it, shifting its genre status from memoir to fi ctional short story. But merely four CONTENTS 8 Consciousness as Creative Force and Prison Cell in Nabokov’s “Mademoiselle O” Claus-Peter Neumann years later, in 1951, Nabokov incorporated this 1947 version of “Mademoiselle O” into the fi rst edition of his autobiogra- phy, Conclusive Evidence, thereby decidedly changing the story’s frame of reference, moving it away from the terrain of fi ction back into the domain of memory.