Pale Fire: Illustrated Sports Illustrated Sports Pale Fire Journal | Page 51

It seems the patient left clues for where the book was written and who actu-
ally wrote the book. With the initial reading, it seems it is written by two differ-
ent people however, that is obviously not the case, unless he had the work from
before. Moreover, on the last page of the book the patient says, “I may huddle
and groan in a madhouse” (1962, 301). If taken literally, the patient has given
the reader the key to what is happening. However, when looking at the word
‘may’ and taking it in the context of what is written the author is simply listing
hypotheticals. Maybe he is in a madhouse, maybe he is not. Maybe the book was
actually written by a Charles Kinbote and John Shade, maybe it was not. Filled
to the brim with hypotheticals and contextual evidence, the book gives life to
many things at once. Doing this forces the reader to acknowledge each interpre-
tation constructed by the patient. Consequently, with each different analytical
lens, you can neither completely prove or disprove an idea.
Furthermore, the patient refers the book was written as “present lodg-
ings” (1962, 13). This infers a place that does not feel like home. It also has the
undertone that it is a temporary place. As if there have been place before and
there will be place after. This is concerning since we want patients to be com-
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