Pale Fire: A Magazine in 12 Projects Group Three | Page 40

ed to make his novel a hom- acters portrayed by men. This age to Pale Fire . Like Timon very living in his cave, Kinbote is Pale Fire and the constant living in a cabin writing his theme throughout of men commentary, far from hu- becoming more feminine and manity. There is also an in- females becoming more mas- stance where Kinbote finds a culine. There is also the myth piece of gold in the ground that Shakespeare wasn’t an (141), very similarly to how Ti- individual, but really a group mon finds gold after digging of people who wrote all of ‘his’ (line 1595). I believe that Nabo- plays and sonnets. Nabokov kov made his novel share so clearly intended to have these many themes with Shake- themes present in his work, as speare’s play to give readers the novel often leaves readers some perspective. In Timon of feeling deceived. There is no Athens , a theme of deception one way to interpret the nov- is prevalent, with Timon being el, and characters are seem- betrayed he ingly actors just playing multi- thought were his friends. In ple parts in Nabokov’s story. In fact, in many of Shakespeare’s fact, on page 301, Kinbote is plays things aren’t quite as quoted as saying “I may turn they seem. Usually, in his up yet…a writer in exile, sans plays, actors fame, sans future, sans audi- were all men, meaning that ence, sans anything but his there were often female char- art…I may pander to the sim- with those Shakespeare’s 40 strongly