I wondered how common were certain
apparently simple associations of words, created by Nabokov,
to warrant a "sighting" when they appear in another author's work, or if
they are then merely unrelated recurring images.
1. Celadon eyes ( RLSK and "a
cat with celadon eyes") could indicate John Dryden's play Astrea (
through her lover, Celadon), Chinese blue-green porcelain and, after Eric
Rohmer's movie Celadon et Astrée, fashionable items such
as brands of wine [Cf. 2005 Topanga Vineyards, 'Celadon',CA:
a shadowy girl with smoky celadon eyes as frigid as glacier ice (
files.meetup.com/397296/Nectar_wine_glass_list_marina.pdf0.] or make-up
[ Celadon Pure Eyes Matte Eyeshadow: A rich mid-deep toned green matte
shadow...]
2. Light of my life ( Lolita
) with its whiff of tango. There are several songs in
Portuguese titled "Luz da minha vida" (Bosco & Vinicius and two other
country music lyrics) and in Spanish "Luz de Mi Vida" Cf. www.metrolyrics.com/luz-de-mi-vida-lyrics-los-lobos.html ;cifras.clickgratis.com.br/marcos_witt_-_gospel/luz_de_mi_vida-18269.html;
letras.terra.com.br/patricia-sosa/495645/
The most surprising is the "Gospel" by Marcos
Witt: "Luz de mi vida, aliento en mi ser/ tu amor me consume, es fuego en mi
ser/ y nada podrá apagar este amor/ Luz de mi vida eres tú/ al contemplarte te
quiero adorar, tu voz seduce mi voluntad/ tú eres mi primer amor, y yo anhelo tu
gloria en mí", also because it mentions "light of my life/ fire in my
being (fuego en mi ser)"
The curious sighting/references (?) I came across
today came from Dean Koontz: "From the Corner of his Eye"
( 2000 Bantam Books):
1. "A man with beautiful celadon eyes, his face
beaded with jewels of rain, reached through the cut-away door and removed the
blanket from Agnes." (p.59)
2."Get this through your head, you shit-for-brains. I
lost a daughter, a precious daughter, my Naomi, the light of my life."
(p.169).
I haven't yet progressed enough and wonder if I
will go on but these two references stood out in its
initial chapters. The new-born hero is called Bartholomew (
is there also something in common with Lolita's and
Pnin's St.Bart?)