From: Jansy <jansy@AETERN.US>
To: NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU
Sent: Sun, April 14, 2013 6:43:02 PM
Subject: [NABOKV-L] Canada: Ada and Pale Fire
While ordering my image-archives, related to Nabokov, I found D.Zimmer's
representation of Antiterra. Ardis is situated close to Quebec in Canada.
Being devoid of any kind of geographical talent, I'm unable to proceed
with my associations related to the importance of Canada (or its symbolization)
in the writings of V.N, or to its equivalence with Russia and St.
Petersburg.
All I know (but not with certainty) is that V.N's life and wanderings took
place exclusively in the Northern hemisphere. and that representationally it
seems to have been bent over itself to recreate the roundness (or
"geoidness") of our planet It seems that this would be a valid
representation of the world and the habitat of certain butterfly families
or species, not for humans.
Not only in "Ada or Ardor, a family chronicle," but in "Pale Fire" Canada
looms large*. What kind of connections have been established between New Wye,
Appalachia and certain European cities (Palermo???).What could these
indicate?
.
..........................................................................
*References to Canada in Pale Fire:
1. Sybil Shade "unfortunately she left New Wye even before I did, and is
dwelling now with relatives in Quebec [ ] Shadeans "headed for
Canada in droves to pounce on the poor lady"
2. lines 81-82 " Here, tucked away by the Canadian
maid,/ I listened
to the buzz downstairs and prayed."
3. "He never tired of illustrating by means of these examples the
extraordinary blend of Canadian Zone and Austral Zone that "obtained," as he put
it, in that particular spot of Appalachia where at our altitude of about
1,500
feet northern species of birds, insects and plants
commingled with southern representatives."
4. John Shade’s wife,
née Irondell [ ] was a few months his senior. I understand she
came of Canadian stock, as did Shade’s maternal grandmother (a first cousin of
Sybil’s grandfather, if I am not greatly
mistaken).
5.CK on line 678: "Two of these
translations appeared in the August number of the Nouvelle Revue Canadienne [ ]
I have no space here to
list a number of other blurrings and blunders in this Canadian version of the
Dean of St. Paul’s denouncement of Death, that slave — not only to "fate" and
"chance" — but also to us ("kings and
desperate men")".
6. "
Niagarin who had lived in Canada spoke English and French;
Andronnikov had some German. The little Zemblan they knew was pronounced with
that comical Russian accent that gives vowels a kind of didactic plenitude of
sound."
All private editorial communications are
read by both co-editors.