EDNOTE. There certainly is a "tobaco" motif in ADA.
The main one is connected to Percy de Prey. It is echoed in ADA II,5. Percy's
cousin Cordula marries shipping magnate Ivan G. Tobak. descendent of the Russian
Admiral who had a duel with Jean Nicot after whom the Tobago (or Tobakoff)
Islands are named. Tobago is, BTW, the island Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was
on. It's name is thought to have been taken by the Spanish from the Taino Indian
word for smoking and hence being the source of "tobacco."
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2003 1:15 PM
Subject: Re: Carolyn Kunin notes on Alexey Sklyarenko's
tobakami/sobakami
Dear Mr Mylnikov,
Carl Proffer in his "Ada as Wonderland"
also notes:
It would rhyme in Russian "s Tobakymi (with the Tobaks) -- s
sobakami (with dogs)."
The stress of both words falls on
the second syllable (bak) so far as I know, so the rhyme would be a particularly
"rich" one.
Tobak = Cabot, but also certainly (along with Tobakoff) makes
the reader think of tabak or tobacco, and there certainly are references to
smoke, smoking, ashes and ashettes, talc, powder and "snow" in the novel -- but
what it all adds up to, I have no idea!
Carolyn Kunin
p.s. When it
comes to Ada, I think we are all "missing something."