A Russian Trilogy by Reza de Wet (review)

Abstract

732 SEER, 8i, 4, 2003 evasive, force the readerto 'reorientate'him/herself in orderto overcome the novel's overriding'masculinerhetoric'(p. 94) and perceive the true nature of Humbert Humbert's distortedscenario. The demonization of Lolita, and her transformationinto a two-dimensional, sexually fetishized figure, echoes the stereotypical representation of women in Glogy (p. 67), although here this is not to imply homosexual disinterest, but functions, rather, as a ploy on Humbert Humbert's part to divest himself of all moral culpability.Elizabeth Patnoe takesthisnotion furtherin her examination of the consequences of the 'Lolita' myth in recent Western culture. She argues that the narrative's dynamic of doubling, or double-voicednessin Bakhtin'sterms, disengagesthe reader and allows for an ambivalent response to the text which sanctions a male-oriented sexual perspective and encourages complicity with Humbert Humbert's misogyny. Thus the novel continues to be fundamentallymisread, whilstthesemisreadingsareperpetuallylegitimizedinboth seriousscholarship and popular culture (perhaps best exemplified by Adrian Lyne's highly chauvinistic I997 film adaptation). The 'Lolita'phenomenon is also addressedby Suellen Stringer-Hyein her essay on Nabokov and popular culture,whilstDon BartonJohnson considers Nabokov as a cult figureof the I96os, 'physicallyabsent [yet] nonetheless the most visiblepresence' (p. 146). AssessingNabokov'slegacy is not an easy task, however, particularlyconsidering his elusive stance and the often corrupting forces of cultural assimilation. The problem is exacerbated by scholars' inability to successfullyengage with or even fully comprehend the significant aspects of popular culture, compounded by frequent errors in citation (for example, the incorrect dating in Stringer-Hye's essay presumably taken from Michael Wood's I994 monograph of Sting's Lolita-inspiredsong, 'Don't Stand So Close To Me', recordedby 'The Police' in I980). These may seem to be trivialdetails, but they serve to instantlyundermine the validityof this kind of investigation. At the same time, a preoccupation with the mere process of identifying instances of allusion precludes a more serious and profound scrutinyof contemporaryresponsesto Nabokov and his world. Nevertheless, this volume is valuable not simply in terms of the new perspectives it offers, but also in its successful application of Larmour's 'collusion-/collision-based' approach (p. 4), which has produced a series of thought-provoking and stimulating essays that both challenge and revise establishedinterpretationsof Nabokov'swork. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies BARBARA WYLLIE University College London de Wet, Reza. A RussianTrilogy. Oberon Modern Playwrights.Oberon Books, London, 2002. 2I5 pp. ?CI2.99 (paperback). THE inconclusive conclusions of Chekhov'smajorplays may inspireambivalent emotions. In essence, the plays appear psychologically and artistically complete. Nina runs out into the night, and Dorn announces Konstantin's death. Sonia offersperpetual solace to desolate Uncle Vania;the three sisters embrace as a trinity of abiding hope-in-despair; Firs mutters in suspended REVIEWS 733 animation. Sounds linger of Telegin's guitar, or the departing band, the axe on tree, and the breakingstring. Yet readers and audiences may still wonder what might happen after the curtainfalls.What lies in store for Nina, Sonia, Vania, Astrov, Ol'ga, Masha, Irina, and Andrei?Although the essential will remain unchanged, time if they live on - will inflict further wounds. What if they (or their author) survived till1905, or 19I7, orbeyond? The South African playwright Reza de Wet has responded to Chekhov's plays with her own 'Russian Trilogy' Three SistersTwo(I997), Yelena (i998), and OntheLake(2001). Her most satisfyingand beguiling achievement is 7hree SistersTwo,in which the charactersof Trisestiyare transportedto provincial Russia in the summer of 1920. The longed-forfuturehas broughtnothing but deprivationand loss. Beforethe action begins, Kulygin has committed suicide afterMasha eloped with General Marovskyof the Red Army. Chebutykinhas died, Vershinin'swife and two daughters have succumbed to cholera, while the odious Protopopov has been shot by the Bolsheviks.Those who survive find themselves 'on the edge of a precipice' (p. 53), facing 'the end of the world' (pp. 65, 86). Against a background of sporadic gunfire, the family subsists on soup bones and green potatoes. Irina's samovar has been confiscated, and the beautiful birch trees have been chopped down for firewood. Andrei is unable to buy a fresh newspaper, or stringsfor his violin (which he eventually sells).Ol'ga is half blind. The invinciblyvulgar Natasha has three chins and 'snoreslike a wild-boar...