Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0016017, Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:51:47 -0500

Subject
Re: QUERY: Russian Translation of "conjurer"
Date
Body
But the Russian is fokusnik, (someone who does magic tricks, not a
wizard of the folk variety)

Priscilla

On Feb 22, 2008, at 6:12 PM, Nabokv-L wrote:

>
> Subject:
> Re: [NABOKV-L] QUERY: Russian Translation of "conjurer"
> From:
> "jansymello" <jansy@aetern.us>
> Date:
> Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:22:32 -0300
> To:
> "Vladimir Nabokov Forum" <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
>
> MR wrote: ... what Russian word Vera used to translate the English
> word "conjurer"? ... Is it translated as volx or some form of that
> word? Since this is fairly esoteric, perhaps answers should come to me
> off-list.
>  
> JM:  To conjure has two different uses: one is "fairly esoteric" ( a
> magical invocation or spell, seriously considered), but the other
> belongs to the realm of "as if by magic" ( prestidigitation,
> illusionism) or as in  "conjuring... up... a meal or a poem". 
> And yet, "conjure" was originally employed to indicate those very
> Kinbotean ideas about deceit, binding oaths, treason, conspiration...
> VN might have employed either one or the other, but at different times
> and contexts. 
> I had never thought about a hint about "treason or deceit" until MR
> posted the present query to the list. 
>
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Priscilla Meyer
Russian Department
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