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Re: [NABOKOV-L] Shura Tobak: a web of...sense?
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Dear Jansy,
A form of both Aleksandr and Aleksandra, Shura can be male or female first name. In Ilf and Petrov's "The Golden Calf" there is Shura Balaganov, a member of the Antelope Gnu crew (consisting of four men). In Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" there is Shura Schlesinger, a female friend of the Zhivago-Gromeko family. Shura marries and divorces even more often than Cordula does in Ada. Schlesinger is the surname of her latest husband.
The sex of Shura Tobak's remains ambiguous. Presumably, Shura is a man, like his namesake and colleague Sashka skripatch (Sashka the fiddler), the Jewish hero of Kuprin's story "Gambrinus". In Ada, Mr Alexander Screepatch is the new President of the United Americas, a plethoric Russian (3.4).
Interestingly, "Sashka" is a long poem by Lermontov and "Sasha" is a long poem by Nekrasov. While Lermontov's Sashka is a young man, Nekrasov's Sasha is a young girl. Sasha is another form of Aleksandr/Aleksandra.
In Ilf and Petrov's "The Twelve Chairs" there is Fima Sobak, a female friend of Ellochka Shchukin. Fima is a form of the male name Serafim and female name Serafima. Serafim is Russian for "seraph".
Traveling in Soviet Central Asia with Aleksandr Ivanovich Koreyko (having missed the plane, they have to ride camels), Ostap Bender (who just squeezed from Koreyko one million rubles) suggests that they declare Jihad to Denmark, because the Danes have murdered their Prince Hamlet.
True, the Kievan Prince Vladimir famously said, rejecting Islam: "Veselie Rusi est' piti" (the mirth of Rus is drinking). Btw., a feast of Vladimir the Fair Sun (Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko, as he was dubbed by his contemporaries) is described in Pushkin's "Ruslan and Lyudmila". In fact, Pushkin's Lyudmila is Vladimir's daughter.
Alexey Sklyarenko
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A form of both Aleksandr and Aleksandra, Shura can be male or female first name. In Ilf and Petrov's "The Golden Calf" there is Shura Balaganov, a member of the Antelope Gnu crew (consisting of four men). In Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" there is Shura Schlesinger, a female friend of the Zhivago-Gromeko family. Shura marries and divorces even more often than Cordula does in Ada. Schlesinger is the surname of her latest husband.
The sex of Shura Tobak's remains ambiguous. Presumably, Shura is a man, like his namesake and colleague Sashka skripatch (Sashka the fiddler), the Jewish hero of Kuprin's story "Gambrinus". In Ada, Mr Alexander Screepatch is the new President of the United Americas, a plethoric Russian (3.4).
Interestingly, "Sashka" is a long poem by Lermontov and "Sasha" is a long poem by Nekrasov. While Lermontov's Sashka is a young man, Nekrasov's Sasha is a young girl. Sasha is another form of Aleksandr/Aleksandra.
In Ilf and Petrov's "The Twelve Chairs" there is Fima Sobak, a female friend of Ellochka Shchukin. Fima is a form of the male name Serafim and female name Serafima. Serafim is Russian for "seraph".
Traveling in Soviet Central Asia with Aleksandr Ivanovich Koreyko (having missed the plane, they have to ride camels), Ostap Bender (who just squeezed from Koreyko one million rubles) suggests that they declare Jihad to Denmark, because the Danes have murdered their Prince Hamlet.
True, the Kievan Prince Vladimir famously said, rejecting Islam: "Veselie Rusi est' piti" (the mirth of Rus is drinking). Btw., a feast of Vladimir the Fair Sun (Vladimir Krasnoe Solnyshko, as he was dubbed by his contemporaries) is described in Pushkin's "Ruslan and Lyudmila". In fact, Pushkin's Lyudmila is Vladimir's daughter.
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/