8080,0000,8080Don -Apologies if this is a duplicate, the originial mailing appears to have disappeared into the ether-S.D. Times New RomanDear Don and List Members- Can someone direct me to a paper in which Nina's violets [Spring in Fialta] and are related to Laertes's protest of Ophelia's innocence? Spring in Fialta At the next corner we were attracted by an old stone stairway, and we climbed up [428 Vintage] with a cluster of bone-white flecks (some hamlet) [428] we stood for a little longer by the stone parapet [429] From somewhere a firm bouquet of small dark, unselfishly smelling violets appeared in her hands [429] TimesHamlet ACT V, Scene 1 TimesLAERTES: Lay her i' the earth: And from her fair and unpolluted flesh May violets spring! I tell thee, churlish priest, A ministering angel shall my sister be, Times New RomanWhen thou liest howling If such a connection exists, it adds to the view that Victor progressively recognizes Nina's vulnerable innocence [a lost child] in addition to her outrageousness [a street row] or her heroic struggle [a train station accident]; just as he comes out of his fog and finally recognizes that he has seen the circus poster [six times] previously. Further, it would suggests that his timid withdrawal of his offer of love - and perhaps more - contributes, Hamlet-like, to her death. -Sandy Drescher 1/21/05