[EDNote: this message should have gone out a couple of days ago, but it
got tangled in my editing process. Apologies to all! ~SB]
Dear Jansy,
There
is a possible indirect reference in Pale Fire to Ganymede (I'm copying
from a note I sent to the list years ago regarding PF constellations):
If
in referrring to Kinbote as the Great Beaver, Nabokov was indeed
indicating a reference to the constellation Gemini, then the pail,
"situla," turns out to indicate the constellation Aquarius. Situla is a
star in the constellation Aquarius, but the name also is an alternate
name, along with Ganymede, for the constellation itself and refers to
the source from which Aquarius/Ganymede pours out the water/wine. It
seems that in most cultures this constellation is associated with
rains, floods, fountains.
One
astrological interpretation reads "The beauty of Ganymedes and his
flight through the air link [Situla] to the ideas of personal charm and
aviation with which [the constellation] is certainly connected." The
beauty of Ganymede has other Pale Fire implications, and also recalls
Shade's title,"Hebe's Cup."
Odd the way your
cup--bearers do it, though, "from the hip"!
Carolyn