Arrows and archery are directly mentioned in an ardilous letter,
by married Ada, to Van:
"I have just read Reflections in Sidra, by Ivan Veen,
and I regard it as a grand piece, dear Professor. The ‘lost shafts of destiny’
and other poetical touches reminded me of the two or three times you had tea and
muffins at our place in the country about twenty years ago. I was, you remember
(presumptuous phrase!), a petite fille modèle practicing archery near a vase
and a parapet and you were a shy schoolboy (with whom, as my mother guessed,
I may have been a wee bit in love!), who dutifully picked up the arrows I
lost in the lost shrubbery of the lost castle ..." - should we
remember that Darkbloom explains further on ( "The direction
of Time, the ardis of Time, one-way Time...") that, on p.430, the
word "Ardis" means "arrow."
In French arrow is translated as "flèche," also used by
the siblings as an echo to the English word "flesh," suggesting a
symbolic meaning for "arrow" (now, "verge"*) as
in: "With the return of health the image of Ada kept
rising within him like a bitter and brilliant wave, ready to swallow him...a
special vest-like affair of flannel enveloped his torso, and though it was tight
and thick it did not protect him any longer from the poisoned point of Ardis.
Arrowhead Manor. Le Château de la Flèche, Flesh Hall."
However, a third possibility lies when we link the fleshy arrow mentioned
as the "poisoned point of Ardis," with the Greek word "toxon," ** to
confirm Nabokov's familiarity with its original meaning (arrows and poison),
something rather confusing for it's extremely difficult, for me,
to distinguish his multiple alusions.
After all, when is the author playing with words, metaphors,
puns or etymology ( i.e., when does he point towards
actual "poisoning," when is this dangerous toxin only an
indication of the "sore roses of eros," or of passion? ). We also know
that the author suffered from psoriasis (which erupted more strongly once, after
he broke off with his lover, Irina) why is there such a cruel mockery
of the diminute librarian, Mr. Verger?
.............................................................................................................................................................................................
* - "Ada showed Van a letter from Dr
Krolik on the same subject; it said (English version): ‘Crimson-blotched,
silver-scaled, yellow-crusted wretches, the harmless psoriatics (who cannot
communicate their skin trouble and are otherwise the healthiest of people —
actually, their bobo’s protect them from bubas and buboes, as my teacher
used to observe) were confused with lepers — yes, lepers — in the Middle Ages,
when thousands if not millions of Vergers and Vertograds crackled and howled
bound by enthusiasts to stakes erected in the public squares of Spain and other
fire-loving countries.’ But this note they decided not to plant in the meek
martyr’s index under PS as they had first intended: lepidopterists are
over-eloquent on lepidosis." All the time its seems
to me there's a strange play around a psoriatic Mr.Verger, who
leaves scattered white fluff all over the place, and the French
word "verge", also used in Ada's message to Van:
"Van, je suis sur
la verge (Blanche again) of a revolting amorous adventure. I could be
instantly saved by you... your Ada will be waiting for you there, waving like
mad, and we’ll continue, by the New World Express, in a suite I’ll obtain, to
the burning tip of Patagonia, Captain Grant’s Horn, a Villa in Verna, my jewel,
my agony..."
or, back to the librarian, maliciously,
how "guilty Ada, who had thought she was alone (pulling out and scanning
the utterly unrewarding Arabian Nights), mistook his fall for the shadow of a
door being stealthily opened by some soft-fleshed eunuch." (etc)
** - ** -The Greek word toxon means a bow for shooting arrows,
toxeuma means arrow. Poisons were often used on the tips of arrows to render
them more lethal, the word toxicos came to refer to such a poison. Another term
for archery is toxophily, which literally means "love of arrows," and a person
who loves archery is often known as a toxophilite, after Roger Asham in
1545 published a book called Toxophilus. (extracted from "The poison sleuths,
poisons, antidotes and anecdotes, 1997.")