Hazel Shade

Hazel Shade is the fictional daughter of the poet John Shade. She was featured in Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Pale Fire". She is portrayed as a somewhat unattractive girl, although, like her father, she handles this with tasteful pity. In a Joyce-esque split imagery poem, Hazel Shade is believed to have committed suicide, although this fact is still disputed. In Charles Kinbote's commentary, he shows contempt for the girl, saying the lines should have been used for a more important subject. Later, his study of Hazel's diary reveals she spoke with a bouncing ball of light which fails to reappear when her parents attempt to join in her peculiar seance. This scene, along with most in "Pale Fire", is taken by some to be a metaphor.