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Re: Nabokov, Garshin and Russian alphabet letters - a note on ADA
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Ronald Oranger could hide a Gerald but we are left with a strange Ron/Oran. BTW: What is a "charadoid"?
Dear Jansy,
The word "charadoid" must have been devised by Ilf & Petrov, who used it, along with "arithmomoid" and "logogriph," in "The Golden Calf" (1931). It probably means "a charade-like puzzle." (BTW, does anyone know what an arithmomoid is? Did this word exist before Ilf & Petrov?)
I didn't notice Gerald in Ronald Oranger. Thank you for pointing this out to me. It lead me to this: RONALD ORANGER + G = GERALD + ORGANON + R ("organon" is an instrument of thought or knowledge; cf. Bacon: "The New Organon;" the words "organon" and "organism" are used by the characters, inveterate drunkards, in Gorky's play "At the bottom"). "Organism" and "organon," in their turn, offer rich anagramatic possibilities (particularly, in combinations with zmiy, Russian for "serpent," and Noi, Russian for "Noah"). In a word, I hope that you will be able one day to read my big charadoid piece (but you'll have to learn Russian, because it is unlikely that my piece will ever be translated).
After I had submitted the second version of my note (thanks to Beth Sweeny for posting it!), I noticed that kisel' (a non-alcoholic Russian half-drink, half-meal) actually comes from kislyi, "sour." This adjective forms a gustatory triad with gor'kiy (bitter) and sladkiy (sweet). A word about the third component. Marina, Van and Ada are the three dulcinists (people who love sweetmeats: 1.5). Pushkin used to exclaim Sladko! ("Sweet"), when he was bitten by the mosquitoes in Yukonsk (1.17). On the other hand, in Cervantes' novel, Don Quixote calls the Lady of his heart Dulcinea. Of course, any Russian remembers Derzhavin's line (quoted by Chatsky in Griboedov's "Woe from the Wit"): "Even the smoke of Fatherland is sweet to us and pleasant." According to Suetonius, I think, The Roman Emperor Adrian said that the corpse of one's enemy smelled good (this is also quoted by Vyazemski in "The old notebook"). In Ada, Van muses that dead soldiers smell better than dead cats (1.40). I could have said more about certain pleasant smells, but I'd better stop, lest anyone vomits.
best,
Alexey
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Dear Jansy,
The word "charadoid" must have been devised by Ilf & Petrov, who used it, along with "arithmomoid" and "logogriph," in "The Golden Calf" (1931). It probably means "a charade-like puzzle." (BTW, does anyone know what an arithmomoid is? Did this word exist before Ilf & Petrov?)
I didn't notice Gerald in Ronald Oranger. Thank you for pointing this out to me. It lead me to this: RONALD ORANGER + G = GERALD + ORGANON + R ("organon" is an instrument of thought or knowledge; cf. Bacon: "The New Organon;" the words "organon" and "organism" are used by the characters, inveterate drunkards, in Gorky's play "At the bottom"). "Organism" and "organon," in their turn, offer rich anagramatic possibilities (particularly, in combinations with zmiy, Russian for "serpent," and Noi, Russian for "Noah"). In a word, I hope that you will be able one day to read my big charadoid piece (but you'll have to learn Russian, because it is unlikely that my piece will ever be translated).
After I had submitted the second version of my note (thanks to Beth Sweeny for posting it!), I noticed that kisel' (a non-alcoholic Russian half-drink, half-meal) actually comes from kislyi, "sour." This adjective forms a gustatory triad with gor'kiy (bitter) and sladkiy (sweet). A word about the third component. Marina, Van and Ada are the three dulcinists (people who love sweetmeats: 1.5). Pushkin used to exclaim Sladko! ("Sweet"), when he was bitten by the mosquitoes in Yukonsk (1.17). On the other hand, in Cervantes' novel, Don Quixote calls the Lady of his heart Dulcinea. Of course, any Russian remembers Derzhavin's line (quoted by Chatsky in Griboedov's "Woe from the Wit"): "Even the smoke of Fatherland is sweet to us and pleasant." According to Suetonius, I think, The Roman Emperor Adrian said that the corpse of one's enemy smelled good (this is also quoted by Vyazemski in "The old notebook"). In Ada, Van muses that dead soldiers smell better than dead cats (1.40). I could have said more about certain pleasant smells, but I'd better stop, lest anyone vomits.
best,
Alexey
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/