Nabokov on distinguishing sentimentality from true emotion

[cimorene]

We must distinguish between ‘sentimental’ and ‘sensitive’. A sentimentalist may be a perfect brute in his free time. A sensitive person is never a cruel person. Sentimental Rousseau, who could weep over a progressive idea, distributed his many natural children through various poorhouses and workhouses and never gave a hoot for them. A sentimental old maid may pamper her parrot and poison her niece. The sentimental politician may remember Mother’s Day and ruthlessly destroy a rival. Stalin loved babies. Lenin sobbed at the opera, especially at the Traviata.

- Vladimir Nabokov, Lectures on Russian Literature

Comments

[vass]

I think he's very right except for this bit:

A sensitive person is never a cruel person.

He seems to be drawing a distinction between paying attention to and accurately perceiving other people's emotions versus the propensity to be moved by culturally-sanctioned, sanitised, extruded emotions.

But he's conflating the former with ethics and care, and the two don't necessarily occur together. A person can be very accurate and attentive indeed without being ethical or merciful at all.

[cimorene]

Yeah, people can have the capacity to be both sensitive to the needs of and truly considerate of and emotionally attached to some other people and still be cruel to other ones. I wonder if he actually disbelieved that, or if he has some other bit of sophistry to explain it away.

[magnetic_pole]

I love how the old maid appears here in the company of Rousseau, the politician, Stalin, and Lenin. :) M.

[cimorene]

I know, right? Like on the one hand, lol old misogynists, but on the other it's... weirdly specific...???