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Re: Fwd: Query: the choice of the name "Ada"
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Dear List,
Here is my addendum to the list that Marie Bouchet has compiled of the
intertextual references of the name "Ada":
1. Adelaide Fouque in Zola's monstrous Family Chronicle "Les
Rougons-Macquart."
2. Two Adeles: "Big Adele" and "the other Adele" in Paul Alexis' story "La
fin de Lucie Pelegrin."
(For the links connecting Ada Veen to her French namesakes, see my notes in
the latest issue of The Nabokovian)
3. Little Ada (Lavretsky's wife - illegitimate? - daughter) in Turgenev's
novel "Dvoryanskoe gnezdo" ("The House of the Gentry"). It seems that there
is no direct connection between the two Adas, but there are obvious
parallels between other caracters in ADA and the Turgenev novel.
4. Alexei Filimonov drew my attention to Lermontov's early long poem "Angel
smerti" ("The Angel of Death"). The heroine's name is Ada. Lermontov is very
important in ADA, but I found no connection between the two girls.
5. If I'm not mistaken, the heroine of one of Byron's long poems
("Manfred"?) is called Ada. No?
I hope to explain the name Van Veen one day.
Alexey Sklyarenko
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 1:14 AM
Subject: Fwd: Query: the choice of the name "Ada"
> Dear List,
>
> I've been thinking about the possible origins of the name "Ada", and I
> gathered elements from Nabokovian critics, from the List, and from my own
> reflections.
> I would like to submit them to you. I would be very grateful if you could
> give me your opinion on them and suggest further references / possible
> origins.
>
> Linguistic echoes in the name itself:
>
> A-da (yes)
> Ada (hell, accusative case?? In Russian)
> Ada = to wear jewels in Hebrew (adi = jewel) (I ignore if Nabokov was
> familiar with Hebrew)
>
>
> Sound parallels:
>
> Ada / Ardor
> Ada / Adora (cf source-text to Ada) / Adorée
> Ada / Adam / Eden
>
> It is to be noted that "Ada" is a palindrome (a structure that is based on
> symmetry and can thus be related to the numerous mirror effects and
doubles
> in the novel). As such the name has an unusual stability in Nabokov's use
of
> language: indeed "Ada" cannot be turned into an anagram.
>
>
> Intertextual references:
>
> Ada, character from Dickens's Bleak House.
> Ada, girl friend mentioned by Alice: "I'm sure I'm not Ada," she said,
"for
> her hair goes in such long ringlets, and mine doesn't go in ringlets at
> all." (L. Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Norton, 1992, 15)
>
>
> Painting reference:
>
> Serov's painting, "portrait of Adelaida Simonovich"
>
> Thank you for your help!
>
> Marie Bouchet.
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
----- End forwarded message -----
Here is my addendum to the list that Marie Bouchet has compiled of the
intertextual references of the name "Ada":
1. Adelaide Fouque in Zola's monstrous Family Chronicle "Les
Rougons-Macquart."
2. Two Adeles: "Big Adele" and "the other Adele" in Paul Alexis' story "La
fin de Lucie Pelegrin."
(For the links connecting Ada Veen to her French namesakes, see my notes in
the latest issue of The Nabokovian)
3. Little Ada (Lavretsky's wife - illegitimate? - daughter) in Turgenev's
novel "Dvoryanskoe gnezdo" ("The House of the Gentry"). It seems that there
is no direct connection between the two Adas, but there are obvious
parallels between other caracters in ADA and the Turgenev novel.
4. Alexei Filimonov drew my attention to Lermontov's early long poem "Angel
smerti" ("The Angel of Death"). The heroine's name is Ada. Lermontov is very
important in ADA, but I found no connection between the two girls.
5. If I'm not mistaken, the heroine of one of Byron's long poems
("Manfred"?) is called Ada. No?
I hope to explain the name Van Veen one day.
Alexey Sklyarenko
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donald B. Johnson" <chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu>
To: <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 1:14 AM
Subject: Fwd: Query: the choice of the name "Ada"
> Dear List,
>
> I've been thinking about the possible origins of the name "Ada", and I
> gathered elements from Nabokovian critics, from the List, and from my own
> reflections.
> I would like to submit them to you. I would be very grateful if you could
> give me your opinion on them and suggest further references / possible
> origins.
>
> Linguistic echoes in the name itself:
>
> A-da (yes)
> Ada (hell, accusative case?? In Russian)
> Ada = to wear jewels in Hebrew (adi = jewel) (I ignore if Nabokov was
> familiar with Hebrew)
>
>
> Sound parallels:
>
> Ada / Ardor
> Ada / Adora (cf source-text to Ada) / Adorée
> Ada / Adam / Eden
>
> It is to be noted that "Ada" is a palindrome (a structure that is based on
> symmetry and can thus be related to the numerous mirror effects and
doubles
> in the novel). As such the name has an unusual stability in Nabokov's use
of
> language: indeed "Ada" cannot be turned into an anagram.
>
>
> Intertextual references:
>
> Ada, character from Dickens's Bleak House.
> Ada, girl friend mentioned by Alice: "I'm sure I'm not Ada," she said,
"for
> her hair goes in such long ringlets, and mine doesn't go in ringlets at
> all." (L. Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Norton, 1992, 15)
>
>
> Painting reference:
>
> Serov's painting, "portrait of Adelaida Simonovich"
>
> Thank you for your help!
>
> Marie Bouchet.
>
> ----- End forwarded message -----
----- End forwarded message -----