Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0009295, Mon, 9 Feb 2004 11:06:14 -0800

Subject
Info & photo in re 'clathrate skirt' in Lolita (Appel)
Date
Body
EDNOTE. NABOKV-L thanks Victor Fet for his expert guidance. I have added a
photograph at the bottom that nicely shows the lattice effect.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Fet, Victor" <fet@marshall.edu>
>
> ----------------- Message requiring your approval (60
lines) ------------------
> In biology, "clathrate" means "having a latticelike structure or
> appearance, like in clathrate foliage".
>
> "Clathratus" or "clathrata" is a common Latin name (species epithet)
> given to a number invertebrate animals, particularly a very common
> Eurasian geometrid moth Semiothisa clathrata (Linnaeus, 1758),see
> http://www.pherobase.com/database/species-Semiothisa-clathrata.html and
> http://www.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/geomet
> roidea/geometridae/ennominae/semiothisa/
>
> This species was listed in VN's childhood reading,
> Alpheraky, 1897, in Romanoff, Mem. Lep. 9: 342; Staudinger & Rebel,
> 1901, Cat. Lepid. palaearct. Faunengeb., 1: 353
>
>
> Victor Fet
> Department of Biological Sciences
> Marshall University,
> Huntington, WV 25755-2510 USA
> phone (304) 696-3116, fax (304) 696-3243
> http://www.science.marshall.edu/fet/euscorpius/Fet.htm
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vladimir Nabokov Forum [mailto:NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU] On
> Behalf Of D. Barton Johnson
> Sent: Monday, February 09, 2004 12:55 PM
> To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
> Subject: Fw: query about 'clathrate skirt' in Lolita (Appel)
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Brian Howell" <pakmshlter@yahoo.com>
> >
> > ----------------- Message requiring your approval (22
> lines) ------------------
> > On p. 138, Annotated Lolita, HH says that Lolita tries
> > on a 'swirly clathrate skirt'. I understand this to
> > mean having a net-like pattern. I'm curious to know if
> > N meant by this word a synonym for 'tartan' or
> > 'checked'.
> >
> > Btw, as good as _The Annotated Lolita_ is, I do find
> > it odd how Appel lets obscure words like this go, and
> > yet he translates simple French phrases whose meaning
> > a lot of people who can't even speak French either
> > know or can more or less guess correctly.
> >
> > Brian
> >
>
Semiothisa clathrata
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