Describing the method of his work, Van Veen (the narrator and main character in Ada) mentions some farcical 'influence of environment' endorsed by Marx p¨¨re:

 

Van Veen [as also, in his small way, the editor of Ada] liked to change his abode at the end of a section or chapter or even paragraph, and he had almost finished a difficult bit dealing with the divorce between time and the contents of time (such as action on matter, in space, and the nature of space itself) and was contemplating moving to Manhattan (that kind of switch being a reflection of mental rubrication rather than a concession to some farcical 'influence of environment' endorsed by Marx p¨¨re, the popular author of 'historical' plays), when he received an unexpected dorophone call which for a moment affected violently his entire pulmonary and systemic circulation. (2.5)

 

At the beginning of Tolstoy¡¯s story Posle bala (¡°After the Ball,¡± 1903) the narrator mentions sreda (environment) and sluchay (chance):

 

¡ª §£§à§ä §Ó§í §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä§Ö, §é§ä§à §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä §ã§Ñ§Þ §á§à §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §á§à§ß§ñ§ä§î, §é§ä§à §ç§à§â§à§ê§à, §é§ä§à §Õ§å§â§ß§à, §é§ä§à §Ó§ã§× §Õ§Ö§Ý§à §Ó §ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ö, §é§ä§à §ã§â§Ö§Õ§Ñ §Ù§Ñ§Ö§Õ§Ñ§Ö§ä. §¡ §ñ §Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§ð, §é§ä§à §Ó§ã§× §Õ§Ö§Ý§à §Ó §ã§Ý§å§é§Ñ§Ö. §Á §Ó§à§ä §á§â§à §ã§Ö§Ò§ñ §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§å.

¡®And you say that a man cannot, of himself, understand what is good and evil; that it is all environment, that the environment swamps the man. But I believe it is all chance. Take my own case . . . ¡±

 

In VN¡¯s story Soglyadatay (¡°The Eye,¡± 1930) the narrator says that ¡°everything is vacillating, everything is due to chance and in vain have been the efforts of that ramshackle and grumbling bourgeois in Victorian check trousers, who wrote the obscure work called 'Capital' ¡ª a fruit of insomnia and megrim:¡±

 

§¤§Ý§å§á§à §Ú§ã§Ü§Ñ§ä§î §Ù§Ñ§Ü§à§ß§Ñ, §Ö§ë§× §Ô§Ý§å§á§Ö§Ö §Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ñ§Û§ä§Ú. §¯§Ñ§Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§Ö§ä §ß§Ú§ë§Ú§Û §Õ§å§ç§à§Þ, §é§ä§à §Ó§Ö§ã§î §á§å§ä§î §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§é§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ñ §Þ§à§Ø§ß§à §à§Ò§ì§ñ§ã§ß§Ú§ä§î §Ü§Ñ§Ó§Ö§â§Ù§ß§à§Û §Ú§Ô§â§à§ð §á§Ý§Ñ§ß§Ö§ä §Ú§Ý§Ú §Ò§à§â§î§Ò§à§Û §á§å§ã§ä§à§Ô§à §ã §ä§å§Ô§à§ß§Ñ§Ò§Ú§ä§í§Þ §Ø§Ö§Ý§å§Õ§Ü§à§Þ, §á§â§Ú§Ô§Ý§Ñ§ã§Ú§ä §Ü §Ò§à§Ô§Ú§ß§Ö §¬§Ý§Ú§à §Ñ§Ü§Ü§å§â§Ñ§ä§ß§à§Ô§à §ã§Ö§Ü§â§Ö§ä§Ñ§â§é§Ú§Ü§Ñ §Ú§Ù §Þ§Ö§ë§Ñ§ß, §à§ä§Ü§â§à§Ö§ä §à§á§ä§à§Ó§å§ð §ä§à§â§Ô§à§Ó§Ý§ð §ï§á§à§ç§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §ß§Ñ§â§à§Õ§ß§í§Þ§Ú §Þ§Ñ§ã§ã§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ú §ä§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §ß§Ö§ã§Õ§à§Ò§â§à§Ó§Ñ§ä§î §à§ä§Õ§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à§Þ§å §Ú§ß§Õ§Ú§Ó§Ú§Õ§å§å§Þ§å, §ã §Ö§Ô§à §Õ§Ó§å§Þ§ñ §Ò§Ö§Õ§ß§í§Þ§Ú "§å", §Ò§Ö§Ù§ß§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§ß§à §Ñ§å§Ü§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§Þ§Ú§ã§ñ §Ó §é§Ñ§ë§à§Ò§Ö §ï§Ü§à§ß§à§Þ§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §á§â§Ú§é§Ú§ß. §¬ §ã§é§Ñ§ã§ä§î§ð, §Ù§Ñ§Ü§à§ß§Ñ §ß§Ú§Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Ô§à §ß§Ö§ä, -- §Ù§å§Ò§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ò§à§Ý§î §á§â§à§Ú§Ô§â§í§Ó§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ò§Ú§ä§Ó§å, §Õ§à§Ø§Õ§Ý§Ú§Ó§í§Û §Õ§Ö§ß§×§Ü §à§ä§Þ§Ö§ß§ñ§Ö§ä §ß§Ñ§Þ§Ö§é§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §Þ§ñ§ä§Ö§Ø, -- §Ó§ã§× §Ù§í§Ò§Ü§à, §Ó§ã§× §à§ä §ã§Ý§å§é§Ñ§ñ, §Ú  §ß§Ñ§á§â§Ñ§ã§ß§à §ã§ä§Ñ§â§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §ä§à§ä §â§Ñ§ã§ç§Ý§ñ§Ò§Ñ§ß§ß§í§Û §Ú §Ò§â§ð§Ù§Ô§Ý§Ú§Ó§í§Û §Ò§å§â§Ø§å§Ñ §Ó §Ü§Ý§Ö§ä§é§Ñ§ä§í§ç §ê§ä§Ñ§ß§Ñ§ç §Ó§â§Ö§Þ§×§ß §£§Ú§Ü§ä§à§â§Ú§Ú, §ß§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§Ñ§Ó§ê§Ú§Û §ä§×§Þ§ß§í§Û §ä§â§å§Õ "§¬§Ñ§á§Ú§ä§Ñ§Ý" -- §á§Ý§à§Õ §Ò§Ö§ã§ã§à§ß§ß§Ú§è§í §Ú §Þ§Ú§Ô§â§Ö§ß§Ú.

 

¡°That ramshackle and grumbling bourgeois in Victorian check trousers¡± is Karl Marx. ¡®Marx p¨¨re¡¯ mentioned by Van seems to hint at Shaxpere, the author of history plays whom Tolstoy disliked. Demon Veen (Van¡¯s and Ada¡¯s father) married Marina¡¯s twin sister Aqua (afflicted with her usual vernal migraine) on Shakespeare¡¯s birthday:

 

On April 23, 1869, in drizzly and warm, gauzy and green Kaluga, Aqua, aged twenty-five and afflicted with her usual vernal migraine, married Walter D. Veen, a Manhattan banker of ancient Anglo-Irish ancestry who had long conducted, and was soon to resume intermittently, a passionate affair with Marina. (1.1)

 

Some confusion ensued less than two years later (September, 1871 ¡ª her proud brain still retained dozens of dates) when upon escaping from her next refuge and somehow reaching her husband¡¯s unforgettable country house (imitate a foreigner: ¡®Signor Konduktor, ay vant go Lago di Luga, hier geld¡¯) she took advantage of his being massaged in the solarium, tiptoed into their former bedroom ¡ª and experienced a delicious shock: her talc powder in a half-full glass container marked colorfully Quelques Fleurs still stood on her bedside table; her favorite flame-colored nightgown lay rumpled on the bedrug; to her it meant that only a brief black nightmare had obliterated the radiant fact of her having slept with her husband all along ¡ª ever since Shakespeare¡¯s birthday on a green rainy day, but for most other people, alas, it meant that Marina (after G.A. Vronsky, the movie man, had left Marina for another long-lashed Khristosik as he called all pretty starlets) had conceived, c¡¯est bien le cas de le dire, the brilliant idea of having Demon divorce mad Aqua and marry Marina who thought (happily and correctly) she was pregnant again. (1.3)

 

Aqua married Demon on a green rainy day. According to Smurov (the narrator and main character in ¡°The Eye¡±), ¡°a rainy day cancels a proposed insurrection.¡±

 

Marina¡¯s talc powder brings to mind the talc powder with which Magda (a character in VN¡¯s novel Kamera Obskura, 1932) strews herself after she had sex with Horn in the bathroom (shared by the inmates of two hotel rooms):

 

§°§ß§Ñ §ñ§Ó§Ú§Ý§Ñ§ã§î §Ú§Ù §Ó§Ñ§ß§ß§à§Û §Ò§à§Õ§â§Ñ§ñ, §ã§Ú§ñ§ð§ë§Ñ§ñ §Ú §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §à§ã§í§á§Ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ §ä§Ñ§Ý§î§Ü§à§Þ. §¬§â§Ö§é§Þ§Ñ§â §Ó §ã§Ó§à§ð §à§é§Ö§â§Ö§Õ§î §á§à§ê§×§Ý §Ü§å§á§Ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ - §ä§Ñ§Þ §Ò§í§Ý§à §Ó§ã§× §à§é§Ö§ß§î §Þ§à§Ü§â§à. §°§ä§ä§å§Õ§Ñ §à§ß §á§à§ã§ä§å§é§Ñ§Ý §¤§à§â§ß§å. "§Á §Ó§Ñ§ã §ß§Ö §Ù§Ñ§Õ§Ö§â§Ø§å, - §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý §à§ß §é§Ö§â§Ö§Ù §Õ§Ó§Ö§â§î. - §³§Ö§Û§é§Ñ§ã §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä §ã§Ó§à§Ò§à§Õ§ß§à". "§£§Ñ§Ý§ñ§Û§ä§Ö, §Ó§Ñ§Ý§ñ§Û§ä§Ö", - §é§â§Ö§Ù§Ó§í§é§Ñ§Û§ß§à §Ó§Ö§ã§Ö§Ý§à §à§ä§Ó§Ö§ä§Ú§Ý §¤§à§â§ß. (chapter XXV)

 

The characters of Kamera obskura (translated into English as Laughter in the Dark) include Dietrich Segelkranz, the writer whom Magda calls ¡°your dear Rosenkranz:¡±

 

§¬§Ñ§Ü §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §å§Ô§à§Õ§ß§à, - §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §®§Ñ§Ô§Õ§Ñ. - §´§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ä§í §á§à§Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§Û, §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Ó§à §Þ§ß§Ö, - §Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à, §ß§Ö§Ó§Ñ§Ø§ß§à, §é§ä§à §ñ §à§ã§Ü§à§â§Ò§Ý§Ö§ß§Ñ §ä§à§Ò§à§Û §Ú §ä§Ó§à§Ú§Þ §Þ§Ú§Ý§í§Þ §²§à§Ù§Ö§ß§Ü§â§Ñ§ß§è§Ö§Þ. §¯§å, §Ý§Ñ§Õ§ß§à, §Ý§Ñ§Õ§ß§à, §Õ§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Û §å§Ü§Ý§Ñ§Õ§í§Ó§Ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ". (chapter XXVIII)


Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in Shakespeare¡¯s Hamlet (Hamlet¡¯s former fellow students).

In Segelkranz¡¯s novella that he reads to Kretschmar the boy asks his mother to give him an orange, a little piece of orange:

 

§µ §à§Ü§ß§Ñ, §ß§Ñ §á§Ý§ð§ê§Ö§Ó§à§Þ §ã§ä§å§Ý§Ö, §â§Ñ§ã§á§â§à§ã§ä§×§â§Ý§Ñ§ã§î §à§Ô§â§à§Þ§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ø§Ö§ß§ë§Ú§ß§Ñ §Ó §å§ã§Ñ§ç, §ã §Þ§à§Ô§å§é§Ú§Þ §Ò§ð§ã§ä§à§Þ, §Ù§Ñ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ý§ñ§ð§ë§Ú§Þ §Õ§å§Þ§Ñ§ä§î §à §Ü§à§â§Þ§Ú§Ý§Ú§è§Ñ§ç §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ü§Ñ§ß§à§Ó, §Ú§ã§á§à§Ý§Ú§ß§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §Þ§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ö§ß§è§Ö§Ó, §å§Ø§Ö §Ù§å§Ò§Ñ§ä§í§ç, §Ò§í§ä§î §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä, §å§Ø§Ö §ã§ä§â§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§ç, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §ã§Ö§Û§é§Ñ§ã §ã§ä§â§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§Ý §¤§Ö§â§Þ§Ñ§ß. §²§ñ§Õ§à§Þ §ã §ï§ä§à§Û §Ø§Ö§ß§ë§Ú§ß§à§Û §ã§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý, §Ò§à§Ý§ä§Ñ§ñ §ß§à§Ô§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §Þ§Ñ§Ý§î§é§Ú§Ü, §ß§Ö§à§Ø§Ú§Õ§Ñ§ß§ß§à §ë§å§á§Ý§í§Û §Ú §Ó§à§Ó§ã§Ö §ß§Ö §â§í§Ø§Ú§Û, - §à§ß §á§à§Ó§ä§à§â§ñ§Ý §á§Ý§Ñ§é§å§ë§Ú§Þ §Ô§à§Ý§à§ã§à§Þ: "§¥§Ñ§Û §Þ§ß§Ö §Ñ§á§Ö§Ý§î§ã§Ú§ß, §Ü§å§ã§à§é§Ö§Ü §Ñ§á§Ö§Ý§î§ã§Ú§ß§Ñ", - §Ú §Ò§í§Ý§à §é§å§Õ§à§Ó§Ú§ë§ß§à §á§â§Ö§Õ§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ú§ä§î §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ü§Ú§ã§Ý§à§Ö, §Ý§Ö§Õ§ñ§ß§à§Ö §ä§Ö§Ý§à §Ñ§á§Ö§Ý§î§ã§Ú§ß§Ñ, §á§à§á§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§ð§ë§Ö§Ö §ß§Ñ §Ò§à§Ý§î§ß§à§Û §Ù§å§Ò. (Chapter XXVII)

 

A couple of days ago Segelkranz was traveling by train and heard a little boy in his train compartment repeat in French: ¡°Donne - moi une orange, un tout petit bout d¡¯orange:¡±

 

§¤§à§â§ß §ã§Ø§Ñ§Ý §Ö§Û §â§å§Ü§å. §°§ß§Ñ §Ó§Ù§Õ§à§ç§ß§å§Ý§Ñ §Ú, §ä§Ñ§Ü §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ø§Ñ§â§Ñ §Ö§× §â§Ñ§Ù§Þ§Ñ§ñ§Ý§Ñ, §á§à§Ý§à§Ø§Ú§Ý§Ñ §Ô§à§Ý§à§Ó§å §Ö§Þ§å §ß§Ñ §á§Ý§Ö§é§à, §á§â§à§Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ñ§ñ §ß§Ö§Ø§ß§à §×§Ø§Ú§ä§î§ã§ñ §Ú §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§Ú§ä§î, - §Ó§ã§× §â§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §æ§â§Ñ§ß§è§å§Ù§í §Ó §Ü§å§á§Ö §ß§Ö §Þ§à§Ô§Ý§Ú §á§à§ß§ñ§ä§î. §µ §à§Ü§ß§Ñ §ã§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ §ä§à§Ý§ã§ä§Ñ§ñ §å§ã§Ñ§ä§Ñ§ñ §Ø§Ö§ß§ë§Ú§ß§Ñ §Ó §é§×§â§ß§à§Þ, §â§ñ§Õ§à§Þ §ã §ß§Ö§Û §Þ§Ñ§Ý§î§é§Ú§Ü, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Û §Ó§ã§× §á§à§Ó§ä§à§â§ñ§Ý: "Donne - moi une orange, un tout petit bout d¡¯orange!" "Fiche - moi la paiz", - §à§ä§Ó§Ö§é§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §Þ§Ñ§ä§î. §°§ß §Ù§Ñ§Þ§à§Ý§Ü§Ñ§Ý §Ú §á§à§ä§à§Þ §ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ß§Ñ§Ý §ã§Ü§å§Ý§Ú§ä§î §ã§í§Ù§ß§à§Ó§Ñ. §¥§Ó§à§Ö §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§í§ç §æ§â§Ñ§ß§è§å§Ù§à§Ó §ä§Ú§ç§à §à§Ò§ã§å§Ø§Õ§Ñ§Ý§Ú §Ó§í§Ô§à§Õ§í §Ñ§Ó§ä§à§Þ§à§Ò§Ú§Ý§î§ß§à§Ô§à §Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ; §å §à§Õ§ß§à§Ô§à §Ú§Ù §ß§Ú§ç §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ §ã§Ú§Ý§î§ß§Ö§Û§ê§Ñ§ñ §Ù§å§Ò§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ò§à§Ý§î, §ë§Ö§Ü§Ñ §Ò§í§Ý§Ñ §á§à§Ó§ñ§Ù§Ñ§ß§Ñ, §à§ß §Ú§Ù§Õ§Ñ§Ó§Ñ§Ý §ã§à§ã§å§ë§Ú§Û §Ù§Ó§å§Ü, §á§Ö§â§Ö§Ü§Ñ§ê§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ñ §â§à§ä. §¡ §á§â§ñ§Þ§à §á§â§à§ä§Ú§Ó §®§Ñ§Ô§Õ§í §ã§Ú§Õ§Ö§Ý §Þ§Ñ§Ý§Ö§ß§î§Ü§Ú§Û §Ý§í§ã§í§Û §Ô§à§ã§á§à§Õ§Ú§ß §Ó §à§é§Ü§Ñ§ç, §ã §é§×§â§ß§à§Û §Ù§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§ß§à§Û §Ü§ß§Ú§Ø§Ü§à§Û §Ó §â§å§Ü§Ö - §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§ß§à §Ò§í§ä§î, §á§â§à§Ó§Ú§ß§è§Ú§Ñ§Ý§î§ß§í§Û §ß§à§ä§Ñ§â§Ú§å§ã. (Chapter XXVI)

 

Une orange brings to mind Ronald Oranger, the editor of Ada who also likes to change his abode at the end of a section or chapter or even paragraph.

 

One of Segelkranz¡¯s fellow travelers suffers from toothache. The hero of Segelkranz¡¯s novella that he reads to Kretschmar, Hermann goes to a dentist. In ¡°The Eye¡± Smurov mentions a toothache:

 

There are no laws ¨C a toothache looses a battle, a rainy day cancels a proposed insurrection ¨C everything is vacillating, everything is due to chance, and in vain have been the efforts of that ramshackle and grumbling bourgeois in Victorian check trousers, who wrote the obscure work called 'Capital' ¡ª a fruit of insomnia and megrim.

 

Alexey Sklyarenko

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