NABOKV-L post 0008023, Wed, 2 Jul 2003 10:29:17 -0700

addendum to Alexey Sklyarenko's tobakami/sobakamiEDNOTE. I had never noticed that the "TOBAK(s)" and "dogs" were palindromes of the original CABOTs and GOD in the famous bit of doggerel that VN uses as the basis for his lines. As well, the TOBAK(s) echo the Russian word for dog SOBAKa. My thanks to Carolyn.

----- Original Message -----
From: Carolyn Kunin
To: Vladimir Nabokov Forum
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 12:36 PM
Subject: addendum to Alexey Sklyarenko's tobakami/sobakami



To the List,

Among the tasty tid-bits in the latest Nabokovian are three notes from Alexey Sklyarenko, who continues to find more allusions to Russian literature in Ada. He intriguingly argues that some passages of dialogue in Ada show traces of translation from original Russian, particularly in the conversation between Van and Greg Erminin (Part III, chapter 3).

However he has missed an allusion to an admittedly obscure bit of doggerel. In Ada


The Veens speak only to Tobaks
And Tobaks speak only to dogs.


Although it may rhyme better in Russian (Tobakami/sobakami) the original is actually


Here's to good old Boston, the land of the Bean and the Cod,
Where Cabots speak only to Lodges, and the Lodges speak only to God.


Also note the characteristically Nabokovian reversals of Cabot/Tobak and God/dog.

Carolyn Kunin