A. Sklyarenko: [...]Ida is a female given name; cf. Ida Larivière, Lucette's
governess who publishes stories and novels under the penname Monparnass;* Ida is
also a story by Bunin, 1925, set in a restaurant; its hero, a composer, recounts
an amorous episode from his past, getting happily drunk in the process;** i is
Russian for "and;" voda means "water" ) [...]I wonder if VN knew any Idas? May
be the actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein (1885-1960), whose portrait, "in the
costume of Eve," was made by Serov and who died in Vence? IDA + ZINA (cf. Zina
Merts, the heroine of "The Gift") = ZINAIDA (cf. Zinaida Hippius, 1869-1945,
Russian poet, novelist, critic*** and
memoirist)
JM: After your posting
about Fartukov, I was reminded of the variations the List proposed in the past (
associated to "fart", Lucette as "my pet" and her remark "il pue"). Your
question about "Ida" has also received serveral mentions at the list (
related to Greek Mythology, and the Parnassian literary movement). The link bt
Ida and Montparnass are a proof of VN's familiarity with Greek myths. "La
Rivière des Diamants", the diamond necklace in G. de Maupassant's novel might
also be related to the Castalia fountain , Pegasus and
Medusa.
Extracts from Wikipedia:
Parnassianism
was a literary style characteristic of certain French poetry during the
positivist period of the 19th century, occurring between romanticism and
symbolism. The name is derived from the original Parnassian poets' journal, Le
Parnasse contemporain, itself named after Mount Parnassus, home of the Muses in
Greek mythology. The anthology was issued between 1866 to 1876, including poems
by Charles Leconte de Lisle, Théodore de Banville, Sully-Prudhomme, Stephane
Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, François Coppée and José María de Heredia. The
Parnassians were influenced by Théophile Gautier and his doctrine of art for
art's sake. In reaction to the looser forms of romantic poetry, and what they
saw as excessive sentimentality and undue social and political activism in
Romantic works, the Parnassians strove for exact and faultless workmanship,
selecting exotic and classical subjects which they treated with rigidity of form
and emotional detachment.
IDA: Two sacred
mountains are called Mount Ida in Greek mythology, equally named "Mount of
the Goddess." Both are associated with the Mother Goddess in the deepest
layers of pre-Greek myth: Mount Ida, Crete, and Mount Ida, Turkey, known as
Phrygian Ida in Classical times. Mount Ida in Phrygia is sacred to another
aspect of the Great Goddess as Cybele, the Mother Goddess, who is often
called Mater Idae ('The Idean Mother").
Etymology :The name Ida is associated
with the Goddess, De, which also appears in Demeter, the "goddess-mother,"
(De + meter). The "De" is an
Attic-Ionic dialect form of the older Da,
"a female deity whose succor and assistance were evoked in archaic formulas
by use of this syllable". The modern Turkish name for Mount Ida, Turkey,
Kaz Dagi (pronounced /k?z d???/) has a coincidental connection with the
goddess' syllable; dag is the element that translates as "mountain," and
all other mountains and mountain ranges in Turkey include dag in their
names.
Mount Parnassus is a mountain of barren
limestone in central Greece that towers above Delphi[...] According to
Greek mythology, this mountain was sacred to Apollo, the Corycian nymphs,
and the home of the Muses. The mountain was also favored by the Dorians.
The name Parnassos seems etymologically related to the Anatolian languages
that made use of *-ssos in placenames (eg. Knossos). *Parna- derived from
the same root as the word in Luwian meaning
House. Mythology: Mount Parnassus is named after Parnassos, the son of
the nymph Kleodora and the man Kleopompus. There was a city of which
Parnassos was leader, which was flooded by torrential rain. The citizens
ran from the flood, following wolves' howling, up the mountain slope.
There the survivors built another city, and called it Lykoreia, which
in Greek means "the howling of the wolves." While Orpheus was living with
his mother and his eight beautiful aunts on Parnassus, he met Apollo who
was courting the laughing muse Thalia. Apollo became fond of Orpheus and
gave him a little golden lyre, and taught him to play it. Orpheus's mother
taught him to make verses for singing. As the Oracle of Delphi was sacred
to the god Apollo, so did the mountain itself become associated with
Apollo. According to some traditions, Parnassus was the site of the
fountain Castalia and the home of the Muses; according to other
traditions, that honor fell to Mount Helicon, another mountain in the same
range. As the home of the Muses, Parnassus became known as the home of
poetry, music, and learning.Parnassus was also the site of several
unrelated minor events in Greek mythology.In some versions of the Greek
flood myth, the ark of Deucalion comes to rest on the slopes of Parnassus.
Orestes spent his time in hiding on Mount Parnassus. Parnassus was sacred
to the god Dionysus. The Corycian Cave, located on the slopes of
Parnassus, was sacred to Pan and to the Muses. Parnassus was also the home
of Pegasus the winged horse of Bellerophon. The name "Parnassus" in
literature typically refers to its distinction as the home of poetry,
literature, and learning.
J.Friedman to Jansy Mello:
I was struck by your mention of Moebius strips and your
thoughts on "manifold" in the same post, since in math, a Moebius strip is an
example of a "manifold". (If you make it out of ideal paper,
anyway.)
JM: The
connection bt.the Moebius strip and the word "manifold" was indirect and
mathematically innocent. Thanks for the information. There's probably even a
rock band with that name. It was a favorite model for Dutch
engraver, Escher, by the visual equivocation it allows concerning the
representation of inside/outside, up/down,etc. There is a short-story by
Julio Cortázar with this title. Pop culture teems with Moebius strips.