Professor Nattochdag’s nickname, Netochka, hints at Dostoevski’s unfinished novel Netochka Nezvanov (1848). On the other hand, it brings to mind Dashen’ka (according to Vyazemski, Zhukovski’s name for Dashkov*). I belatedly get VN’s joke: while net means “no,” da means “yes.” A diminutive of Darya, Dashen’ka brings to mind Sirin’s first novel Mashen’ka (“Mary,” 1926) and seems to hint at Yeslove (a town in Kinbote’s Zembla, north of Onhava). Onhava (Zemblan capital) suggests “heaven.” According to Delvig (Pushkin’s best friend at the Lyceum), “the nearer to heaven, the colder one’s verses get.” Kinbote completes his work on Shade’s poem and commits suicide on Oct. 19, 1959 (the Lyceum anniversary).

*In his EO Commentary (vol. III, p. 323) VN quotes Batyushkov’s justly celebrated letter of Apr. 25, 1814, to Dmitri Dashkov (who was not a Count, as I incorrectly wrote in my previous post). In the last thirty three years of his life (1787-1855) poor Batyushkov was insane. After meeting Batyushkov on Apr. 3, 1830, Pushkin wrote his poem Ne day mne Bog soyti s uma… (The Lord, Forbid my Going Mad…” 1833) in which the words net and da occur. Professor Botkin (Shade’s, Kinbote’s and Gradus’ “real” name) is mad.

Alexey Sklyarenko