JM: "...good Ida, far from abandoning
Marina, with whom she had been platonically and irrevocably in love ever since
she had seen her in ‘Bilitis,’ accused herself of neglecting Lucette by
overindulging in Literature; consequently she now gave the child, in spurts of
vacational zeal, considerably more attention than poor little Ada (said Ada) had
received at twelve, after her first (miserable) term at
school."
There have been many exchanges concerning Pierre
Louÿs"s "The Songs of Bilitis" in past Nab-L postings. However, by
accident, while inquiring after the (for me) inoffensive expression
"minette," I was presented to an equally anonymous production by this
same Parnassian (Mount Ida?) and Symbolist poet.*
This work might have been hinted at by Nabokov when he makes
Mlle Ida "overindulge in Literature" while educating Lucette. How about
this title: Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l'usage des maisons
d'éducation ?** It makes direct reference to incest,
paedophilia and, even through wikipedia, it offers rather crude
illustrations (it's found when you click on the link above).
After exploring two items in the "Manuel de civilité" I had to
consider under a new light another paragraph in Ada ***.
Later on I'll explore Nabokov's two or three other references to
Pierre-Louÿs, embedded in his text (probably easily found in
Boyd's Ada Online)
.......................................................................................................
* He (P.Louÿs) followed up in 1894 with another erotic collection in 143 prose
poems, Songs
of Bilitis (Les Chansons de Bilitis), this time with strong
lesbian themes.[2] It was divided into
three sections, each representative of a phase of Bilitis's life: Bucolics in Pamphylia, Elegies
at Mytilene, and Epigrams in the Isle of Cyprus; dedicated to her were
also a short Life of Bilitis and three epitaphs in The Tomb of Bilitis. What made
The Songs sensational is Louÿs' claim that the poems were the work of an
ancient Greek courtesan and contemporary of Sappho, Bilitis; to himself, Louÿs ascribed the modest
role of translator. The pretense did not last very long, and "translator" Louÿs
was soon unmasked as Bilitis herself. This did little to tarnish The Songs of
Bilitis, however, as it was praised as a fount of elegant sensuality and
refined style, even more extraordinary for the author's compassionate portrayal
of lesbian (and female in general) sexuality[...] .
** "...(written in 1917, published posthumously and anonymously in
1927), a parody whose obscenity is almost unparalleled even in the long history
of French clandestine publishing "(wikipedia)
*** "A few blocks from the schoolgrounds, a widow, Mrs
Tapirov...had a shop of objets d’art and more or less antique furniture. He
visited it on a bright winter day. Crystal vases with crimson roses and
golden-brown asters were set here and there in the fore part of the shop... He
satisfied himself that those flowers were artificial and thought it puzzling
that such imitations always pander so exclusively to the eye instead of also
copying the damp fat feel of live petal and leaf. When he called next day ...he
touched a half-opened rose and was cheated of the sterile texture his fingertips
had expected when cool life kissed them with pouting lips. ‘My daughter,’ said
Mrs Tapirov, who saw his surprise, ‘always puts a bunch of real ones among the
fake pour attraper le client. You drew the joker.’ As he was leaving she
came in, a schoolgirl in a gray coat with brown shoulder-length ringlets and a
pretty face.On another occasion...he saw her curled up with her schoolbooks in an armchair — a
domestic item among those for sale. He never spoke to her. He loved her madly.
It must have lasted at least one term."