In my previous post on cats I mentioned Garshin's novella
"Nadezhda Nikolaevna." In a letter of August 21, 1831, to Pushkin Gogol
(who hated cats, see VN's book on Gogol) calls Pushkin's wife, née Natalia
Nikolaevna Goncharov, Nadezhda Nikolaevna: "Да
сохранит вас бог вместе с Надеждою Николаевною от всего недоброго и пошлёт
здравие на веки" (God may keep you and Nadezhda Nikolaevna from
everything that is not good and give you good health forever). On
August 25 Pushkin replied: "Ваша Надежда Николавна, т. е. моя Наталья
Николавна – благодарит Вас за воспоминание и сердечно кланяется
Вам" (Your Nadezhda Nikolaevna, that is my Natalia
Nikolaevna, thanks you for the memory and sends you her cordial
greetings).
Nadezhda was the name of Mandelshtam's wife.
There is Nadezhda in Ada (in
Ursus, Van, Ada and Lucette listen to Okudzhava's Sentimental
March: 2.8):
Nadezhda, I shall then be back,
When the true batch outboys the
riot...
Alexey Sklyarenko