So, maybe, Petrarch's Laura is meant, not Dante's? Alexey
Dear Alexey,
Sorry I wasn't clear - - by "Dante's Laura" I really meant Petrarch's. I was looking for a Laura who might be linked to Dante and found this one. I got to Petrarch through the peacocks in VN's letter - - it was Petrarch you see who reported that while she was pregnant, Dante's mother dreamt that her child would be transformed into a peacock.
Your contributions would seem to confirm that this is the track VN was on. Preminger's Laura could also play a role - - our author was never afraid to tackle a double. By the way, Laura in the film is a kind of "revenant," isn't she, seemingly returning from the dead? And she is also a kind of a muse like Petrarch's Laura (and of course Dante's Beatrice).
And speaking of Pushkin, aren't Dante and Danthès homonyms in Russian pronunciation (spirals within spirals)?
For possible links between Petrarch, Can Grande, peacocks and Dante I can refer you to a book by Mark MIrsky, "Dante, Eros, & Kabbalah" - - particularly pages 166-167 and possibly ff. (hint: themes of mortality and messianism are involved)
Sorry I took so long to respond to your helpful hints.
Carolyn
p.s. (by the way, was there the original of Petrarch's Laura, or the poet invented her?).
This is discussed on http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/laura.html