Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0011666, Wed, 10 Aug 2005 09:10:06 -0700

Subject
Fwd: Re: "Organs of Locomotion" in ADA
Date
Body
----- Forwarded message from costine@gmail.com -----
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 07:14:31 -0400
From: Cody Owen Stine <costine@gmail.com>
Reply-To: Cody Owen Stine <costine@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: "Organs of Locomotion" in ADA
To: chtodel@gss.ucsb.edu

Dear List:

On the simplest level (and forgive me if this is too simple and you've
already thought of it), "organs of locomotion" is a real phrase used
by scientists to mean, well, exactly what it sounds like it would
mean--in humans, the organs of locomotion are the legs and feet.
There is some mild irony in VN's use of the phrase to refer to Van's
hands, as it is a phrase so strongly associated with the foot; indeed,
scientists sometimes use the word "foot" colloquially when referring
to what is more properly the organ of locomotion in an invertebrate.
See, for example, OED:

foot 2.a. Viewed with regard to its function, as the organ of locomotion....


foot 11.a. Zool. Applied to various organs of locomotion or attachment
belonging to certain invertebrate animals; in more precise technical
language distinguished by special names, as ambulacrum, podium,
pseudopodium, etc.


And so forth. Nabokov the entomologist would certainly have been
familiar with this scientific or pseudo-scientific vocabulary. There
may be more going on here, of course, but I thought that at the very
least VN is playing with confusing or conflating foot/hand
terminology.

Best,

Cody Owen Stine

----- End forwarded message -----