Alexey Sklyarenko: "With glowing cheekbones and that glint of copper
showing from under her tight rubber cap on nape and forehead, she [Lucette]
evoked the Helmeted Angel of the Yukonsk Ikon whose magic effect was said to
change anemic blond maidens into konskie deti, freckled red-haired
lads, children of the Sun Horse. (Ada, Part Three,
5)"
JM: In Ada, Nabokov doesn't forget
that Lucette is a "russet" and Red Veen's daughter, therefore she
is already freckled and red-haired, but a lassie.
What could be the intention behind
Nabokov's image that links Lucette's rubber cap and the
magic helmet that changes a blonde into red-haired boy? ( or the
powerful force allied to the Sun Horse lies only with the Yukonsk Ikon, not
in the helmet alone?)
Alexey's quotes accompanied by translations are a
treat. Thank you, AS. After you mentioned "The
Sun Horse" and the Slavic Sun god, adding lines 108-110 from
the "Slovo" ("with you, sons of Rus, I
wish/ either to lay down
my head/ or drink helmetful of the
Don", I was reminded of a DVD with a curious version of
the Arthurian legend ( 2004; directed by Antoine Fuqua), because it
suggests that Arthur's and Gallahad's loyalties were to Samarkand. They
often hailed each other yelling "To Rus" hoping to return home, after
having served Rome for several years, in the distant shores of Britain.
That interpretation was totally new to me.