his number called our household, it would bring me such anger! I cannot express how irritating it was to consistently be harassed and watched by someone that you cannot stand! In his commentary to my late husband’ s work Pale Fire he himself mentioned many instances of stalking my husband. At one point, he goes on about how he watched my husband through his window with a pair of binoculars, and went into such detail about my husband’ s habits that it is certain that had spied often and for long periods of time( 89). He would usually watch him while he worked. He was so obsessed with my husband’ s literature that he watched him work without his consent. I would sometimes hear a rustle outdoors, and I knew that it was Charles spying on us again. I would angrily close the window and the curtains, but he never seemed to take the hint( 90)!
District Attorney: Can you think of any instances where Charles’ involvement was expressly refused, yet he still arrived anyway?
Sybil Shade: Yes, the first instance that I can recall would be the time when I was planning a vacation for John and I. While I was out purchasing a new travelling bag, just coincidentally Charles comes up to me and stars inquiring on my travels. He started asking me where I was travelling, when I was travelling, and all sorts of invasive questions. I tried to give vague responses to his questions. When he asked when we were travelling, I simply replied“ At the end of the month.” When he asked where we were travelling, I said that I was not sure yet-maybe“ Wyoming or Utah or Montana.”( 182). Charles apparently had a doctor’ s appointment that day, and Charles and John saw the same doctor. So, Charles got the doctor to tell him all he knew about our vacation, and he then took that information over to the travelling agency and studied maps to find out where we were staying. He somehow took my vague, noncommittal description of our vacation and was able to track down the exact cabin in the mountains where we were staying! The amount of effort that man must have put into that baffles me. On top of that, Charles decided to rent the cabin right next to ours! This was a complete breach in privacy for both me and my husband.
This is not the case of a man who is sane! This is the case of a deeply troubled man who has been tormenting my husband and making the last few months of his life filled with grief and stress.
District Attorney: Very well, I have no more questions for the witness.
Court: Very well, the witness is excused. The prosecution may call its next witness to the stand.
District Attorney: The Region of Appalachia now calls the publisher of Pale Fire, Frank, to the stand. Can you express how you went about publishing
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