Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal | Page 49

tously shared the same birthday as me.
Sybil never understood our relationship, and she was never around when
we had our best moments. Sybil only saw what she wanted to see out of
our relationship, and she thought that I was a distraction to Shade and his
work. Therefore, she would always push me away from him. In doing this,
she was depriving both of us of enjoying each other’s presence.
Public Defender: It sounds to be like the two of you shared a very mean-
ingful friendship. Now, would you be able to discuss your homeland of
Zembla with us?
Charles Kinbote: I will if I must, but exposing my secret in this way could
put me in a great deal of danger. However, for the sake of my innocence, I
believe it my story must be told. I truly am the king of Zembla, it was not a
farce. Zembla is indeed a real place, and there has been documentation of
the land which has existed before my story with John even began! Two
decades ago, I was translating literature from English into Zemblan to help
myself learn the English language (19). I surely could not have known the
language of Zemblan if it were not a real place!
Public Defender: You have tried to keep your identity as the king of Zem-
bla a secret for some time now. Would you mind presenting us with some
information that proves that you truly are the king?
Charles Kinbote: I would be glad to! Of course, there are the obvious simi-
larities, such as that I am a native born Zemblan and bare the same name
to King Charles (75). However, as written in my commentary to Pale Fire, I
mentioned how the king was “addicted to studying literature,” and how he
longed to teach at a university (76). Of course, the king longed to teach at
a university, because I longed to teach at a university! I ended up fulfilling
that dream by fleeing my homeland and coming to New Wye in the hopes
of starting anew and forgetting about my past as the king.
Public Defender: Now, some on the prosecution made the claim that Zem-
bla may not even be a real place at all-how would you respond to that
claim?
Charles Kinbote: I think an excellent example to prove Zemblan’s exist-
ence would be to describe an interaction I had between a couple of pro-
fessors a little time ago. We were in the lounge of the Faculty Club when
one of my peers, a lecturer from Germany, kept exclaiming how I looked
exactly like the king (264)! Seeing as I was trying to keep that part of my
life a secret, I simply denied the claim and kept trying to change the sub-
ject. But the man kept persisting; he claimed that he had sat next to be in
49