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Re: [ NABOKOV-L] Ada,
Artemisia and Lucette's suicide ("dracunculus")
Artemisia and Lucette's suicide ("dracunculus")
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On Mon, Feb 1, 2010 at 6:14 PM, jansymello <jansy@aetern.us> wrote:
> *"somebody had said that triplets and heraldic dracunculi often occurred
> in trilingual families..."*
> **
> From former postings J.Friedman brought up "Artemisia/Ada" following Victor
> Fet's information about the "dracunculus" (botanical and zoological).
>
Just as something that someone might find to lead somewhere. I think it's
much more likely that "spigotty" is supposed to suggest the derogatory
"spiggotty" as well as "spigot".
By the way, I didn't remember it; I searched the archives for "Artemisia".
[...]
>
> As for the* herbs*, there are:
> (a)* **Artemisia dracunculus L*. (Tarragon or dragon's-wort);
> (b) "*Artemisia tridentata*" (sage brush);
> (c) *"Common Mugwort Artemisia Vulgaris, L. Felon-herb, Sailor's Tobacco*
> *.
>
And many others, some listed at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_%28genus%29
Among the best known is wormwood, /Artemisia absinthium/. The latter is
referred to a number of times in Shakespeare, the Bible, and places like
that. The Wikiparticle says, "In Russian culture, the fact that
*Artemisia*species are commonly used in medicine, and their bitter
taste is associated
with medicinal effects, has caused wormwood to be seen as a symbol for a
"bitter truth" that must be accepted by a deluded (often self-deluded)
person. This symbol has acquired a particular poignancy in modern Russian
poetry, which often deals with the loss of illusory beliefs in various
ideologies." I don't know whether that's true or whether it would have any
relevance to /Ada/.
>
> Apparently, it is the Common Artemisia that is related to Ada's
> sister, Lucette - by the reference to a common sailor and the Tobakoff,
> contrary to an expected direct link with the "Artemisia
> dracunculus/dragon's-wort" :
>
> (a) "* *is it true that a sailor in *Tobakoff*’s day was not taught to
> swim so he wouldn’t die a nervous wreck if the ship went down?’* **‘A
> common sailor, perhaps,’* said Van. ‘When *michman *Tobakoff himself got
> shipwrecked off Gavaille, he swam around...
> (b) Lucette, jumping into the sea from the "Admiral Tobakoff" ship "did
> not see her whole life flash before her as we all were afraid she might have
> done...the myosotes of an unanalyzable brook...*she swam like a dilettante
> Tobakoff* in a circle of brief panic and merciful torpor"**.
>
All very tempting.
>
> How does the "Artemisia dracunculus" relate to the "heraldic dracunculi",
> or to the "tripartite" Artemisia? Should we refrain to the zoological
> "dracunculus" and the caduceus?
>
The connection to the caduceus strikes me as the most tenuous of all of
these.
>
> Aren't we being misled by Artemisia/Ada to be drawn away from the much
> simpler link: "dracunculus/draoncle/festering wound"?
>
I think "heraldic" suggests that it's not that simple, although the
festering wound is probably part of it (and "draguncel", swelling of the
lymph nodes in the groin, could be specifically relevant).
Incidentally, I feel sure the mythical Artemisia was named after Artemis, a
virgin goddess, which could be connected.
Jerry Friedman
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> *"somebody had said that triplets and heraldic dracunculi often occurred
> in trilingual families..."*
> **
> From former postings J.Friedman brought up "Artemisia/Ada" following Victor
> Fet's information about the "dracunculus" (botanical and zoological).
>
Just as something that someone might find to lead somewhere. I think it's
much more likely that "spigotty" is supposed to suggest the derogatory
"spiggotty" as well as "spigot".
By the way, I didn't remember it; I searched the archives for "Artemisia".
[...]
>
> As for the* herbs*, there are:
> (a)* **Artemisia dracunculus L*. (Tarragon or dragon's-wort);
> (b) "*Artemisia tridentata*" (sage brush);
> (c) *"Common Mugwort Artemisia Vulgaris, L. Felon-herb, Sailor's Tobacco*
> *.
>
And many others, some listed at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_%28genus%29
Among the best known is wormwood, /Artemisia absinthium/. The latter is
referred to a number of times in Shakespeare, the Bible, and places like
that. The Wikiparticle says, "In Russian culture, the fact that
*Artemisia*species are commonly used in medicine, and their bitter
taste is associated
with medicinal effects, has caused wormwood to be seen as a symbol for a
"bitter truth" that must be accepted by a deluded (often self-deluded)
person. This symbol has acquired a particular poignancy in modern Russian
poetry, which often deals with the loss of illusory beliefs in various
ideologies." I don't know whether that's true or whether it would have any
relevance to /Ada/.
>
> Apparently, it is the Common Artemisia that is related to Ada's
> sister, Lucette - by the reference to a common sailor and the Tobakoff,
> contrary to an expected direct link with the "Artemisia
> dracunculus/dragon's-wort" :
>
> (a) "* *is it true that a sailor in *Tobakoff*’s day was not taught to
> swim so he wouldn’t die a nervous wreck if the ship went down?’* **‘A
> common sailor, perhaps,’* said Van. ‘When *michman *Tobakoff himself got
> shipwrecked off Gavaille, he swam around...
> (b) Lucette, jumping into the sea from the "Admiral Tobakoff" ship "did
> not see her whole life flash before her as we all were afraid she might have
> done...the myosotes of an unanalyzable brook...*she swam like a dilettante
> Tobakoff* in a circle of brief panic and merciful torpor"**.
>
All very tempting.
>
> How does the "Artemisia dracunculus" relate to the "heraldic dracunculi",
> or to the "tripartite" Artemisia? Should we refrain to the zoological
> "dracunculus" and the caduceus?
>
The connection to the caduceus strikes me as the most tenuous of all of
these.
>
> Aren't we being misled by Artemisia/Ada to be drawn away from the much
> simpler link: "dracunculus/draoncle/festering wound"?
>
I think "heraldic" suggests that it's not that simple, although the
festering wound is probably part of it (and "draguncel", swelling of the
lymph nodes in the groin, could be specifically relevant).
Incidentally, I feel sure the mythical Artemisia was named after Artemis, a
virgin goddess, which could be connected.
Jerry Friedman
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
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
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/