we are having a brisk outbreak in New York City today I walked along two blocks on west 100 street and counted about forty of the red admirals..some were smaller than usual, but flying and tangling madly, basking on dandlelions, and one even sat on a violet. Small wonder that Nabokov loved this frolicksome butterfly.


-----Original Message-----
From: Carolyn Kunin <chaiselongue@ATT.NET>
To: NABOKV-L <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU>
Sent: Sun, May 6, 2012 6:36 pm
Subject: Re: [NABOKV-L] It Happens (Red Admiral outbreak in NYC)

Can anyone tell us more about the "Nabokov-lore, the numeral-like underwing pattern of this species and the reported occurrence of such an outbreak in Russia supposedly had some fateful parallel with the dates of the Russian revolution"? --Tori Alexander


Dear Tori Alexander,

Are you referring to the butterfly "outbreak" or the historical occurrence? If the latter, I have supposed it was the assassination of Alexander II on March 13, 1881 and the outbreaks of violence, especially pogroms against the Jews that make 1881 a fateful year. The vicous attacks that followed the assassination certainly can be seen as a bellwether of the later Russian revolutions 

C Kunin



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Google Search the archive Contact the Editors Visit "Nabokov Online Journal" Visit Zembla View Nabokv-L Policies Manage subscription options Visit AdaOnline View NSJ Ada Annotations Temporary L-Soft Search the archive

All private editorial communications are read by both co-editors.