Subject
Re: THOUGHTS: Nitsa - Bol'nitsa in Pale Fire
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Stan Kelly-Bootle replies to Alexey Sklyarenko (who is not sure if his
idle thoughts are relevant):
In VN’s “indivisibly monist” world, all things are jovially
inter-related and cunningly co-relevant.
With the possible exception of any real proximity between "Больстон"
and the cities/towns called Boston. The earlier English Boston in merry
Lincolnshire (from which the Massachusetts city gets its name) is said
to be a topnym of St Botolph’s Town, suitably contracted via
Bo[tolph]ston after a heavy night on the cider. Suggestive links with
Nabokov are (i) Botolph is the patron saint of travellers, and it’s well
documented that VN travelled more than most (ii) VN was probably
acquainted with the 1950s Cambridge University poetry journal, St
Botolph’s Review.
Stan Kelly-Bootle
------
From AS:
Disa's Villa Paradisa is near Nice (see Kinbote's note to ll. 433-434).
Its Russian name, Ницца (pronounced Nitsa), rhymes with a number of
words, one of them being bol'nitsa ("hospital"; the Ницца-больница rhyme
occurs, for instance, in Mayakovsky's poem about his unhappy Odessa love
Облако в штанах, "The Trousered Cloud"). Bol'nitsa comes from bol'noy
(adj., "ill", "sick"; noun, "patient"), but also has bol' ("pain";
"ache") in it. Kinbote's wife Disa is Duches of Payn, of Great Payn and
Moan (герцогиня Больстонская, из великой Боли и Стона in Vera Nabokov's
translation; note that "Больстон" is not too far from the American
Boston).
Note that, according to Carolyn Kunin's theory, Shade is not murdered
but hospitalized.
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idle thoughts are relevant):
In VN’s “indivisibly monist” world, all things are jovially
inter-related and cunningly co-relevant.
With the possible exception of any real proximity between "Больстон"
and the cities/towns called Boston. The earlier English Boston in merry
Lincolnshire (from which the Massachusetts city gets its name) is said
to be a topnym of St Botolph’s Town, suitably contracted via
Bo[tolph]ston after a heavy night on the cider. Suggestive links with
Nabokov are (i) Botolph is the patron saint of travellers, and it’s well
documented that VN travelled more than most (ii) VN was probably
acquainted with the 1950s Cambridge University poetry journal, St
Botolph’s Review.
Stan Kelly-Bootle
------
From AS:
Disa's Villa Paradisa is near Nice (see Kinbote's note to ll. 433-434).
Its Russian name, Ницца (pronounced Nitsa), rhymes with a number of
words, one of them being bol'nitsa ("hospital"; the Ницца-больница rhyme
occurs, for instance, in Mayakovsky's poem about his unhappy Odessa love
Облако в штанах, "The Trousered Cloud"). Bol'nitsa comes from bol'noy
(adj., "ill", "sick"; noun, "patient"), but also has bol' ("pain";
"ache") in it. Kinbote's wife Disa is Duches of Payn, of Great Payn and
Moan (герцогиня Больстонская, из великой Боли и Стона in Vera Nabokov's
translation; note that "Больстон" is not too far from the American
Boston).
Note that, according to Carolyn Kunin's theory, Shade is not murdered
but hospitalized.
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/