Subject
Re: Jerry Friedman: zesty, "vira", and versipellous Vseslav
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Date
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Jansy Mello replies to Jerry Friedman:
JF to AS: [ The Russian equivalent of "kinboot" is vira. Interestingly,
this
obsolete, yet existing word (it is in the Dahl dictionary, and even in
the
Oxford Russian-English dictionary where it is translated as "wergeld")
is
close to both "Vyra" (the name of VN's family estate) and "Vera" (the
name
of his wife). It is also close to the Latin vir.]
Interesting is right! Is it etymologically related to "vir" (and thus
to
"virile" and "virilia", words that Kinbote uses)? If so, it's related
to
"weregild", and to "werewolf"...medieval Russia's Prince Vseslav of
Polotsk
is depicted ...as a werewolf. This fits very nicely with Kinbote's
being
Botkin transformed into a monster.... "that odd muse of mine, my
versipel"
could secondarily refer to Kinbote as inspiring Shade, and here Vseslav
was
a versipel....Am I right
in thinking that if you take out the first two sounds[Vseslav], you get
something close to Yeslove (see Index)?
JM to JF: You extended the Russian "vira" ( Kinbote, Vyra, Vera and vir)
from weregeld to werewolf! (and I thought "weregeld" was a mispel, not
a
versipel).
If your arguments are correct, CK's uptlifting use of "vigor", close to
"roused virility" *, shows how the anagram (vigor-virgo) changes into
"virago", thus confirming the link between "vir" and "versipel" - for
we
all know, "virago" derives both from "virilia" and "virer" ( Old French
for
"turn inside-out").
Also the note about the more virile replacement of the left-hand signal
for
"X" leads us to Xavier and, finally, back from Charles to Kinbote [
X=K=C]
now confirmed by Victor Fet's information about "how the Russian hard
"H"
(Cyrillic X,pronounced "KH") was often simplified to "K" in American
spelling". Our equivalences are now X=K=H (KH) =X].
Unfortunately I could not follow the indexed passage from Odevalla,
Yeslove
and Embla, going through Onhava and Bresberg before reaching Polotsk. Is
it
where "Vera" ( "truth") comes in ?
* CF. "Pale Fire" references to "virile and virilia", plus "virility":
1. ...the Talon Trouser Fastener (a rather grasping and painful name, by
the
way). It shows a young gent radiating virility among several ecstatic
lady-friends, and the inscription reads: You'll be amazed that the fly
of
your trousers could be so dramatically improved.
2. When stripped and shiny in the mist of the bath house, his bold
virilia
contrasted harshly with his girlish grace.
3 . ... make a sign corresponding to the X (for Xavier) in the one-hand
alphabet of deaf mutes...(many have criticized it for looking too
droopy; it
has now been replaced by a more virile combination)
4. ... I am sure that Mr. Emerald will interrupt briefly his
investigation
of some mammate student's resilient charms to deny with the vigor of
roused
virility that he ever gave anybody a lift to my house that evening.
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JF to AS: [ The Russian equivalent of "kinboot" is vira. Interestingly,
this
obsolete, yet existing word (it is in the Dahl dictionary, and even in
the
Oxford Russian-English dictionary where it is translated as "wergeld")
is
close to both "Vyra" (the name of VN's family estate) and "Vera" (the
name
of his wife). It is also close to the Latin vir.]
Interesting is right! Is it etymologically related to "vir" (and thus
to
"virile" and "virilia", words that Kinbote uses)? If so, it's related
to
"weregild", and to "werewolf"...medieval Russia's Prince Vseslav of
Polotsk
is depicted ...as a werewolf. This fits very nicely with Kinbote's
being
Botkin transformed into a monster.... "that odd muse of mine, my
versipel"
could secondarily refer to Kinbote as inspiring Shade, and here Vseslav
was
a versipel....Am I right
in thinking that if you take out the first two sounds[Vseslav], you get
something close to Yeslove (see Index)?
JM to JF: You extended the Russian "vira" ( Kinbote, Vyra, Vera and vir)
from weregeld to werewolf! (and I thought "weregeld" was a mispel, not
a
versipel).
If your arguments are correct, CK's uptlifting use of "vigor", close to
"roused virility" *, shows how the anagram (vigor-virgo) changes into
"virago", thus confirming the link between "vir" and "versipel" - for
we
all know, "virago" derives both from "virilia" and "virer" ( Old French
for
"turn inside-out").
Also the note about the more virile replacement of the left-hand signal
for
"X" leads us to Xavier and, finally, back from Charles to Kinbote [
X=K=C]
now confirmed by Victor Fet's information about "how the Russian hard
"H"
(Cyrillic X,pronounced "KH") was often simplified to "K" in American
spelling". Our equivalences are now X=K=H (KH) =X].
Unfortunately I could not follow the indexed passage from Odevalla,
Yeslove
and Embla, going through Onhava and Bresberg before reaching Polotsk. Is
it
where "Vera" ( "truth") comes in ?
* CF. "Pale Fire" references to "virile and virilia", plus "virility":
1. ...the Talon Trouser Fastener (a rather grasping and painful name, by
the
way). It shows a young gent radiating virility among several ecstatic
lady-friends, and the inscription reads: You'll be amazed that the fly
of
your trousers could be so dramatically improved.
2. When stripped and shiny in the mist of the bath house, his bold
virilia
contrasted harshly with his girlish grace.
3 . ... make a sign corresponding to the X (for Xavier) in the one-hand
alphabet of deaf mutes...(many have criticized it for looking too
droopy; it
has now been replaced by a more virile combination)
4. ... I am sure that Mr. Emerald will interrupt briefly his
investigation
of some mammate student's resilient charms to deny with the vigor of
roused
virility that he ever gave anybody a lift to my house that evening.
Search the archive: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/archives/nabokv-l.html
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm