The thesis in this essay was implicitly stated. Nabokov is telling us that in order to be a good reader, we mustn't have only one way of thinking. We must be able to be excited about a book, but we must also have patience. We must have balance. "We all have different temperaments, and I can tell you right now that the best temperament for a reader to have, or to develop, is a combination of the artistic and the scientific one. The enthusiastic artist alone is apt to be too subjective in his attitude towards a book, and so a scientific coolness of judgment will temper the intuitive heat. If, however, a would-be reader is utterly devoid of passion and patience—of an artist’s passion and a scientist’s patience—he will hardly enjoy great literature." This quote from Nabokov's essay summarizes his thesis for us pretty well. He is telling us we must have balance. The enthusiastic artist cannot thrive fully without the coolness of a scientists judgement. We must have differing temperaments in order to fully understand a good book.
Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and Fredson Bowers. "Good Readers and Good Writers."Lectures on Literature. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980. Print.
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