Subject
Fwd: Query: the choice of the name "Ada"
From
Date
Body
Dear List,
Ive 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 Nabokovs use of
language: indeed Ada cannot be turned into an anagram.
Intertextual references:
Ada, character from Dickenss Bleak House.
Ada, girl friend mentioned by Alice: Im sure Im not Ada, she said, for
her hair goes in such long ringlets, and mine doesnt go in ringlets at
all. (L. Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Norton, 1992, 15)
Painting reference:
Serovs painting, portrait of Adelaida Simonovich
Thank you for your help!
Marie Bouchet.
----- End forwarded message -----
Ive 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 Nabokovs use of
language: indeed Ada cannot be turned into an anagram.
Intertextual references:
Ada, character from Dickenss Bleak House.
Ada, girl friend mentioned by Alice: Im sure Im not Ada, she said, for
her hair goes in such long ringlets, and mine doesnt go in ringlets at
all. (L. Carroll, Alice in Wonderland, Norton, 1992, 15)
Painting reference:
Serovs painting, portrait of Adelaida Simonovich
Thank you for your help!
Marie Bouchet.
----- End forwarded message -----