But who is paying vira (the Russian equivalent of "kinboot") for the murdered Shade? Nabokov himself? Curious that vira (an obsolete, yet existing, word) is close to both "Vyra" (the name of VN's family estate) and "Vera" (the name of his wife).
Alexey
Dea Aleksey,
Hodge, perhaps?
I suggest that Shade is not shot of course but changes into something rich and strange, that is Kinbote himself.
Any other ideas as to the reason for Hodge?
Carolyn