Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal Judgement Day Pale Fire Journal | Page 50

my Zemblan days at a Sports Festival in Onhava.
How could the land of Zembla be fictional when a man I had never seen
before in my life came up to me and recognized me as the king? It would
be nearly impossible for this event to have transpired based on a mere co-
incidence!
The only people who knew my true identity were the two trustees and the
president of the college (25) I am also fairly certain that Shade knew my
secret as well. I never directly told him, but I gathered from slight hints in
our conversations that he knew. For example, after this previous event
happened with the German lecturer, Shade smiled at me and said, “Kings
do not die-they only disappear, eh, Charles?” (266). Then, throughout the
lecturer’s debate about how he was positive that I truly was the king,
Shade kept trying to dismiss his claims and change the subject. Little ges-
tures such as this made me truly think that Shade understood my situation
and what I was going through, and respected that my secret needed to be
protected. This only made me value him as a friend even more.
Public Defender: I have no further questions for the defendant.
The Court: Does the prosecution have any questions for the defense?
District Attorney: Yes. I would like to mention the fact that, after Kinbote
and Shade met, Kinbote decided to rent a house directly next door to the
poet (82). It seems that, as a stalker, living right next door to his victim
could give him a plethora of opportunities for stalking. How could you pos-
sibly interpret this as a sane move?
Public Defense: We do not have definite evidence that Kinbote knew that
he was moving right next door to the poet. The fact that Kinbote moved in
next door to Shade could have been the event that caused them to have a
friendship in the first place. It is not uncommon for two neighbors to be-
come friends.
The Court: Alright, both sides have proposed all of their evidence. Would
both sides please present their final statements?
District attorney: Through thorough examination of evidence provided, it is
evident that Charles Kinbote is a mentally unstable man. He has not only
let his mental insecurities get the better of him by posing himself to be a
king from a fictional land, he has also allowed them to interfere with those
around him. This resulted in the unfortunate stalking of a John Shade due
to an obsession of Charles Kinbote with the man’s work as a poet. This
not only put stress on the poet himself, but also put strains on the relation-
ship between John and his wife Sybil. I believe that this information proves
50