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Fwd: RE: burnberry vs bogberry
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EDNOTE. Below biologist Victor Fet responds to my wondering whether ADA's
"burnberry" (a name that apparently does not exist in English) might stem from
a Russian plant name. His Blok sugggestion is tantalizing. In passing I note
the the "bog" and "bogberry" Brian and Victor mention echo (doubtless
fortuitously) the Russian BOG (God).
----------------------------------------------------
----- Forwarded message from fet@marshall.edu -----
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 16:21:14 -0500
From: "Fet, Victor" <fet@marshall.edu>
Dear Don:
I dont think there is direct Russian linguistic connection.
However, there seems to be another strong berry connection since Lucete has her
shorts "stained with burnberry purple".
Boyd explains in Annotations that Burnberry is invented, modelled on terms
like bogberry, or the bilberry.
Bog theme is of course central to "Ada" as Boyd just detailed in Ada, the Bog
and the Garden.... Bogberry, according to Webster 1913, is a small
cranberry -- in Russian, "klyukva". Cranberry is the only berry anywhere in the
bogs, northern Russian or northern American (Russian cranberry is not a bush but
Aniterra is set in North American geography where cranberries are in fact
bushes).
Now, "klyukva" has no fire or burn connotation but has a very important blood
(especially fake blood) meaning which I believe originates from Alexander Blok:
the famous cry of the cardboard Clown, I am bleeding cranberry juice!
("Istekayu klyukvennym sokom!") (Blok, Balaganchik, the play, 1906).
Maybe it is all my conjecture, but Blok was VN's favorite poet in his youth, and
in another small Bloks poem also called Balaganchik, which became a
proverbial Symbolist image of life itself, the whole scene sounds like Ada
theme:
...A small circus is amazing;
Its for kids who are merry and bright;
There a girl and a boy're gazing
At the ladies, kings, and droll sprites.
....
The scary sprite has captured a tiny tot,
With cranberry juice dripping down.
.....
Here both the girl and the boy broke into tears,
And the merry street circus shut its doors. [Zaplakali devochka i mal'chik/i
zakrylsya vesyolyi balaganchik"]
Transl. Maya Zhuravel (http://www.chernomore.net/)
The fake blood theme may be related to the deflowering theme in Ada.
All this also seems to be related to raspberry-picking Pushkin theme which Boyd
details in annotations to 1:2.
Victor
-----Original Message-----
From: Donald B. Johnson [mailto:chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu]
Sent: Tue 2/22/2005 2:28 PM
To: Fet, Victor
Subject: RE: Fwd: Query: the choice of the name "Ada"
Dear Victor,
Can you think of a Russian plant name that might echo "Ada's
"burnberry"?
Maybe "Zhar-"? Best, Don
----- End forwarded message -----
"burnberry" (a name that apparently does not exist in English) might stem from
a Russian plant name. His Blok sugggestion is tantalizing. In passing I note
the the "bog" and "bogberry" Brian and Victor mention echo (doubtless
fortuitously) the Russian BOG (God).
----------------------------------------------------
----- Forwarded message from fet@marshall.edu -----
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 16:21:14 -0500
From: "Fet, Victor" <fet@marshall.edu>
Dear Don:
I dont think there is direct Russian linguistic connection.
However, there seems to be another strong berry connection since Lucete has her
shorts "stained with burnberry purple".
Boyd explains in Annotations that Burnberry is invented, modelled on terms
like bogberry, or the bilberry.
Bog theme is of course central to "Ada" as Boyd just detailed in Ada, the Bog
and the Garden.... Bogberry, according to Webster 1913, is a small
cranberry -- in Russian, "klyukva". Cranberry is the only berry anywhere in the
bogs, northern Russian or northern American (Russian cranberry is not a bush but
Aniterra is set in North American geography where cranberries are in fact
bushes).
Now, "klyukva" has no fire or burn connotation but has a very important blood
(especially fake blood) meaning which I believe originates from Alexander Blok:
the famous cry of the cardboard Clown, I am bleeding cranberry juice!
("Istekayu klyukvennym sokom!") (Blok, Balaganchik, the play, 1906).
Maybe it is all my conjecture, but Blok was VN's favorite poet in his youth, and
in another small Bloks poem also called Balaganchik, which became a
proverbial Symbolist image of life itself, the whole scene sounds like Ada
theme:
...A small circus is amazing;
Its for kids who are merry and bright;
There a girl and a boy're gazing
At the ladies, kings, and droll sprites.
....
The scary sprite has captured a tiny tot,
With cranberry juice dripping down.
.....
Here both the girl and the boy broke into tears,
And the merry street circus shut its doors. [Zaplakali devochka i mal'chik/i
zakrylsya vesyolyi balaganchik"]
Transl. Maya Zhuravel (http://www.chernomore.net/)
The fake blood theme may be related to the deflowering theme in Ada.
All this also seems to be related to raspberry-picking Pushkin theme which Boyd
details in annotations to 1:2.
Victor
-----Original Message-----
From: Donald B. Johnson [mailto:chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu]
Sent: Tue 2/22/2005 2:28 PM
To: Fet, Victor
Subject: RE: Fwd: Query: the choice of the name "Ada"
Dear Victor,
Can you think of a Russian plant name that might echo "Ada's
"burnberry"?
Maybe "Zhar-"? Best, Don
----- End forwarded message -----