Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0027621, Mon, 18 Dec 2017 13:41:33 -0800

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Re: ( waxwing = Sterbevogel, microphoenix )
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Kinbote describes his family crest as having a bird called "silktail",
which resembles a waxwing. The silktail also is like a small firebird:




“*Incidentally, it is curious to note that a crested bird called in Zemblan
*sampel *(‘silktail’), closely resembling a waxwing in shape and shade, is
the model of one of the three heraldic creatures (the other two being
respectively a reindeer proper and a merman azure, crined or) in the
armorial bearings of the Zemblan King, Charles the Beloved…” (PF p.57)*



This is where more overt references to alchemy first appear in *Pale Fire*.
These images are heraldic “*emblems”*, also called “charges”. Many emblems
share a base with alchemic images. Alchemists used “*emblemata*”, symbolic
engraved images, to illustrate their craft.

The first emblem is the silktail. Kinbote hints broadly at the connection
to John Shade’s waxwing (“shape and *shade*”), and thus boasts his
connection to Shade. The silktail’s Latin name is “*Lamprolia victoria*”.
The Latin word for silk, however is “*bombycis*” which would relate it
further to John Shade’s “*bombycillus shadei*” waxwing. The silktail
actually resembles a small Bird of Paradise and is of the order
*Paradisaeidae*. From a book by Ronald d. Gray, “*Goethe The Alchemist*”:



*“**Bird of Paradise is an alchemy symbol and is sometimes represented as a
pheasant or a peacock…The ‘*peacock’s feathers*’ were a widespread symbol
in all alchemical literature, representing either the Philosophers’ Stone
itself, or the stage in the Magnum Opus immediately preceding it.”*



The pheasant stands for a person of resources; the peacock for immortality.


More subtly suggested is Nabokov’s early émigré *nom de plume*, “Sirin”.
The sirin was a fabulous bird, one of the three birds of paradise in
Russian folklore.

John Shade writes of pheasant's feet as clues "pointing backwards" a la
Sherlock Holmes.

There is thus a string of connections
waxwing/Sterbevogel/death/silktail/firebird/phoenix/peacock/alchemy/rebirth/clues/Shade/Kinbote/Nabokov

On Sun, Dec 17, 2017 at 9:50 AM, Hen Hanna <henhanna@gmail.com> wrote:

> These links ( waxwing = Sterbevogel, microphoenix ...)
> seem new to Nabokov scholarship,
> and if so, pls give credit to me (as HenHanna (no space)),
> as Prof Maar does (to VN-list posts) in his books' footnotes.
>
>
> So, a waxwing is both a death-bird and
> a micro-firebird (of rebirth),
> which seems fitting
> and esp. interesting to me
> because of FW (Finnegans Wake) connections.
>
>
> Kreuzvogel -- it 'cross'es over to the other side ?
>
> _________________
>
> waxwing = Sterbevogel, or Pestvogel, (Krieg(s)vogel, ...)
> in Switzerland
> ( omen of war, disease, or freezing weather )
> (recurring every 7 years)
>
>
> The Flying Dutchman
> "Die Frist ist um, und abermals verstrichen sind sieben Jahr"
> (The time has come and seven years have again elapsed)
>
> _______________
>
> for [Sterbevogel]
> other sources more suitable / reliable than
> this book can easily be found :
>
> Bird Magic: Wisdom of the Ancient Goddess for Pagans & Wiccans
> https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0738749311
> Sandra Kynes - 2016 - ‎Body, Mind & Spirit
>
> To German speakers, they were known as sterbevogel, “death birds,”
> because huge flocks would swoop in and devour vast amounts of fruit
> before it could be harvested.165
>
> In Irish folklore, the waxwing was regarded as a
> harbinger of the banshee who would wail when death was nigh.
>
> In addition, the red spots of color on some of the wing feathers were
> called “drops of hellfire.”166 To others, the red drops looked
> more like sealing wax, which is the source of the bird's common name,
> ... .................
>
> __________________________________
>
>
> Nos oiseaux - Volumes 51-52 - Page 227
> https://books.google.com/books?id=1sdKAAAAYAAJ
> 2004 - ‎Snippet view -
>
> Elles sont à l'origine du nom anglais « Waxwing », mais aussi des
> appellations «incendiaria», «incineraria» et même « microphoenix »
> (Brisson 1760, t. Il, p. 334), rappel de l'oiseau légendaire qui
> renaît du feu.
> Car depuis l'Antiquité, le Jaseur a acquis la triste
> réputation d'incendiaire de villages, auxquels il boutait le feu en
> laissant tomber des braises sur les toits. Comme tous les phénomènes
> rares, atmosphériques (arc-en-ciel), astronomiques (comètes,
> météorites) ou biologiques ...
>
>
> ( ... For since antiquity, the Jasper? [waxwing] has acquired the sad
> reputation of incendiary (of) villages, which he fired the fire by
> dropping embers on the roofs. )
>
> microphoenix -- see “drops of hellfire” above
>
> HH
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Mary H. Efremov" <mbutterfly549@aol.com>
> Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2017 22:20:11 -0400
> Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] reflected sky, even & odd in PF
> To: NABOKV-L@listserv.ucsb.edu
>
> there is a scientific or literary reason for everything in VN;s books
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Hen Hanna <henhanna@GMAIL.COM>
> To: NABOKV-L <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
> Sent: Sat, Mar 25, 2017 10:06 pm
> Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] reflected sky, even & odd in PF
>
> On 3/24/17, Alexey Sklyarenko <skylark1970@mail.ru> wrote:
> > At the beginning of his poem Pale Fire John Shade (one of the three main
> > characters in VN’s novel Pale Fire, 1962) compares himself to the shadow
> of
> > the waxwing and mentions the reflected sky:
> >
> >
> >
> > I was the shadow of the waxwing slain
> > By the false azure in the windowpane
> > I was the smudge of ashen fluff--and I
> > Lived on, flew on, in the reflected sky (ll. 1-4)
> >
> >
>
> I did wonder, why waxwing? why that particular bird?
>
> It turns out that waxwings are known for that.
>
>
> Spring Is in the Air and So Are Intoxicated Birds | Audubon
> www.audubon.org/news/spring-air-and-so-are-intoxicated-birds
> 2011/03/02 - Cedar waxwings and robins are most likely to gorge on
> fermented blackberries, pyracantha or juniper berries ... Tipsy birds
> may be more likely to smash into windows, so consider putting decals
> on the large reflective surfaces.
>
>
> 2012/05/25 - Flocks of cedar waxwings died en masse outside Los
> Angeles after overdoing it on berries from the Brazilian pepper tree.
> ...
>
>
> I was reading a trivia book, and found this. HH
>
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Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
Nabokov Studies: https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/257
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Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
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The Nabokov Society of Japan's Annotations to Ada: http://vnjapan.org/main/ada/index.html
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