Subject
Dona Sol and her Krolik
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Ibsen's Solness also reminded me of Dona Sol, as Pushkin and Vyazemski used to call (in their correspondence) A. O. Rosset (Rossetti, m. Smirnov, 1809-82), after the heroine of Hugo's drama Hernani (1830). On the other hand, in a letter of (about/not later than) June 27, 1834, to his wife, N. N. Pushkin, Pushkin calls Rosset's husband Smirnov (whose wife just gave birth to the twins) krasnoglazyi krolik ("a red-eyed rabbit"):
Какова бабёнка, и каков красноглазый кролик Смирнов? – Первого ребёнка такого сделали, что не пролез, а теперь принуждены на двое разделить.*
In Ada, there are the Erminin twins and Dr Krolik, the local entomologist, Ada's teacher of natural history.
The name Rossetti also brings to mind the poet and painter Dante Gabriel** Rossetti and his sister Christina, Ada's "Venezia Rossa" (1.36) and Rossini, the Italian composer whose music Pushkin compares to Ai (champagne mentioned also in Ada: 2.8) in Eugene Onegin.
*Apologies, I don't translate this difficult quote (Rosset's first child was so big that a Caesarean section was needed; the second delivery went better because the fetus was "divided in two"). Btw., this and the next letter (of June 28) of Pushkin to his wife have something prophetic about them and are heart-rending to read.
**The author of Gavriiliada (the Gabriel poem), Pushkin fought his fatal duel with Danthes. A fortune-teller predicted Pushkin that he will die "because of white head" (belonging to man or horse). Danthes was blond.
Alexey Sklyarenko
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Какова бабёнка, и каков красноглазый кролик Смирнов? – Первого ребёнка такого сделали, что не пролез, а теперь принуждены на двое разделить.*
In Ada, there are the Erminin twins and Dr Krolik, the local entomologist, Ada's teacher of natural history.
The name Rossetti also brings to mind the poet and painter Dante Gabriel** Rossetti and his sister Christina, Ada's "Venezia Rossa" (1.36) and Rossini, the Italian composer whose music Pushkin compares to Ai (champagne mentioned also in Ada: 2.8) in Eugene Onegin.
*Apologies, I don't translate this difficult quote (Rosset's first child was so big that a Caesarean section was needed; the second delivery went better because the fetus was "divided in two"). Btw., this and the next letter (of June 28) of Pushkin to his wife have something prophetic about them and are heart-rending to read.
**The author of Gavriiliada (the Gabriel poem), Pushkin fought his fatal duel with Danthes. A fortune-teller predicted Pushkin that he will die "because of white head" (belonging to man or horse). Danthes was blond.
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/