[EDNOTE. As someone who studies
VN's allusions to European "fairy tales," in particular, I would be most
interested in hearing responses from Slavicists on whether or not VN refers to
Russian or Slavic folklore. SES]
SS: I think I was not
sufficiently precise when I told that there is no folklore in VN's works.
I would say rather that there is no direct use of Russian or Slavic
folklore.
A very quick
comment, may I? Tchekov's Fata Morgana's Monk, Gogol, Karel Kapek...
Aren't these often, although lightly or indirectly alluded
by VN when he recreates an eerie landscape that is similar to these other
authors own brand of live "Folklore"?
PS: Rimsky- Korsakov's The Legend of the Invisible
City of Kitezh is perhaps the oeuvre SS alluded to. It may be heard,
for example, with the Kirov Chorus and
Orchestra, ST. Peterburg, recording of it (Philips). Nabokov's reference to Lake Kitezh in ADA was very brief
and, as it is usual in VN, very brief comments on his part are almost always the
most important ones.
VN's appreciation of Gogol and other
non-Russian writers, as Karel Kapek should be