In his Commentary to Shade¡¯s poem Kinbote (who imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last self-exiled king of Zembla) mentions the Bishop of Yeslove and the Onhava cathedral:
John Shade and Sybil Swallow (see note to line 247) were married in 1919, exactly three decades before King Charles wed Disa, Duchess of Payn. Since the very beginning of his reign (1936-1958) representatives of the nation, salmon fishermen, non-union glaziers, military groups, worried relatives, and especially the Bishop of Yeslove, a sanguineous and saintly old man, had been doing their utmost to persuade him to give up his copious but sterile pleasures and take a wife. It was a matter not of morality but of succession. As in the case of some of his predecessors, rough alderkings who burned for boys, the clergy blandly ignored our young bachelor's pagan habits, but wanted him to do what an earlier and even more reluctant Charles had done: take a night off and lawfully engender an heir.
He saw nineteen-year-old Disa for the first time on the festive night of July the 5th, 1947, at a masked ball in his uncle's palace. She had come in male dress, as a Tirolese boy, a little knock-kneed but brave and lovely, and afterwards he drove her and her cousins (two guardsmen disguised as flowergirls) in his divine new convertible through the streets to see the tremendous birthday illumination, and the fackeltanz in the park, and the fireworks, and the pale upturned faces. He procrastinated for almost two years but was set upon by inhumanly eloquent advisors, and finally gave in. On the eve of his wedding he prayed most of the night locked up all alone in the cold vastness of the Onhava cathedral. Smug alderkings looked at him from the ruby-and-amethyst windows. Never had he so fervently asked God for guidance and strength (see further my note to lines 433-434).
After line 274 there is a false start in the draft:
I like my name: Shade, Ombre, almost "man"
In Spanish...
One regrets that the poet did not pursue this theme--and spare his reader the embarrassing intimacies that follow. (note to Line 275)
The name of Zembla¡¯s capital, Onhava seems to hint at heaven. ¡°Yes, love¡± and ¡°heaven¡± occur close to each other in a line of Byron¡¯s poem The Giaour (1813):
Yes, Love indeed is light from heaven;
A spark of that immortal fire
With angels shared, by Alla given,
To lift from earth our low desire. (ll. 1132-1135)
Byron died in Missolonghi, Greece, on April 7/19, 1824. In a letter of June 24-25, 1824, to Vyazemski Pushkin says that Byron¡¯s genius blednel (paled) with his youth:
§±§à §ä§Ó§à§Ú§Þ §á§Ú§ã§î§Þ§Ñ§Þ §Ü §Ü§ß§ñ§Ô§Ú§ß§Ö §£§Ö§â§Ö §Ó§Ú§Ø§å, §é§ä§à §Ú §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ú §Ü§ð§ç§Ö§Ý§î§Ò§Ö§Ü§Ö§â§ß§à §Ú §ä§à§ê§ß§à; §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ô§â§å§ã§ä§ß§à §á§à §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß§Ö, §Ñ §ñ §ä§Ñ§Ü §â§Ñ§Õ §Ö§Ô§à §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ú, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ó§í§ã§à§Ü§à§Þ§å §á§â§Ö§Õ§Þ§Ö§ä§å §Õ§Ý§ñ §á§à§ï§Ù§Ú§Ú. §¤§Ö§ß§Ú§Û §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß§Ñ §Ò§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§Ö§Ý §ã §Ö§Ô§à §Þ§à§Ý§à§Õ§à§ã§ä§Ú§ð. §£ §ã§Ó§à§Ú§ç §ä§â§Ñ§Ô§Ö§Õ§Ú§ñ§ç, §ß§Ö §Ó§í§Ü§Ý§ð§é§Ñ§ñ §Ú §¬§Ñ§Ú§ß§Ñ, §à§ß §å§Ø§Ö §ß§Ö §ä§à§ä §á§Ý§Ñ§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §Õ§Ö§Þ§à§ß, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Û §ã§à§Ù§Õ§Ñ§Ý «§¤§ñ§å§â§Ñ» §Ú «§¹§Ú§Ý§î§Õ-§¤§Ñ§â§à§Ý§î§Õ§Ñ». §±§Ö§â§Ó§í§Ö §Õ§Ó§Ö §á§Ö§ã§ß§Ú «§¥§à§ß §¨§å§Ñ§ß§Ñ» §Ó§í§ê§Ö §ã§Ý§Ö§Õ§å§ð§ë§Ú§ç. §¦§Ô§à §á§à§ï§Ù§Ú§ñ §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ú§Þ§à §Ú§Ù§Þ§Ö§ß§ñ§Ý§Ñ§ã§î. §°§ß §Ó§Ö§ã§î §ã§à§Ù§Õ§Ñ§ß §Ò§í§Ý §ß§Ñ§Ó§í§Ó§à§â§à§ä; §á§à§ã§ä§Ö§á§Ö§ß§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú §Ó §ß§×§Þ §ß§Ö §Ò§í§Ý§à, §à§ß §Ó§Õ§â§å§Ô §ã§à§Ù§â§Ö§Ý §Ú §Ó§à§Ù§Þ§å§Ø§Ñ§Ý ¡ª §á§â§à§á§Ö§Ý §Ú §Ù§Ñ§Þ§à§Ý§é§Ñ§Ý; §Ú §á§Ö§â§Ó§í§Ö §Ù§Ó§å§Ü§Ú §Ö§Ô§à §å§Ø§Ö §Ö§Þ§å §ß§Ö §Ó§à§Ù§Ó§â§Ñ§ä§Ú§Ý§Ú§ã§î ¡ª §á§à§ã§Ý§Ö 4-§à§Û §á§Ö§ã§ß§Ú Child Harold §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß§Ñ §Þ§í §ß§Ö §ã§Ý§í§ç§Ñ§Ý§Ú, §Ñ §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§Ý §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Û-§ä§à §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Û §á§à§ï§ä §ã §Ó§í§ã§à§Ü§Ú§Þ §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ú§Þ §ä§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§ß§ä§à§Þ.
According to Pushkin, in his tragedies Byron is not that fiery demon anymore who created The Giaour and Child Harold. ¡°The first two Cantos of Don Juan are artistically superior to the next.¡± In Chapter Seven (XXII: 5) of Eugene Onegin Pushkin mentions ¡°the singer of the Giaour and Juan:¡±
§·§à§ä§ñ §Þ§í §Ù§ß§Ñ§Ö§Þ, §é§ä§à §¦§Ó§Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§Û
§ª§Ù§Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ñ §é§ä§Ö§ß§î§Ö §â§Ñ§Ù§Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Ý,
§°§Õ§ß§Ñ§Ü§à §Ø §ß§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ä§Ó§à§â§Ö§ß§Ú§Û
§°§ß §Ú§Ù §à§á§Ñ§Ý§í §Ú§ã§Ü§Ý§ð§é§Ú§Ý:
§±§Ö§Ó§è§Ñ §¤§ñ§å§â§Ñ §Ú §¨§å§Ñ§ß§Ñ
§¥§Ñ §ã §ß§Ú§Þ §Ö§ë§× §Õ§Ó§Ñ-§ä§â§Ú §â§à§Þ§Ñ§ß§Ñ,
§£ §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§ç §à§ä§â§Ñ§Ù§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §Ó§Ö§Ü
§ª §ã§à§Ó§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü
§ª§Ù§à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ø§×§ß §Õ§à§Ó§à§Ý§î§ß§à §Ó§Ö§â§ß§à
§³ §Ö§Ô§à §Ò§Ö§Ù§ß§â§Ñ§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û §Õ§å§ê§à§Û,
§³§Ö§Ò§ñ§Ý§ð§Ò§Ú§Ó§à§Û §Ú §ã§å§ç§à§Û,
§®§Ö§é§ä§Ñ§ß§î§ð §á§â§Ö§Õ§Ñ§ß§ß§à§Û §Ò§Ö§Ù§Þ§Ö§â§ß§à,
§³ §Ö§Ô§à §à§Ù§Ý§à§Ò§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§í§Þ §å§Þ§à§Þ,
§¬§Ú§á§ñ§ë§Ú§Þ §Ó §Õ§Ö§Û§ã§ä§Ó§Ú§Ú §á§å§ã§ä§à§Þ.
Although we know that Eugene
had long ceased to like reading,
still, several works
he had exempted from disgrace:
the singer of the Giaour and Juan
and, with him, also two or three novels
in which the epoch is reflected
and modern man rather correctly represented
with his immoral soul, selfish and dry,
to dreaming measurelessly given,
with his embittered mind
boiling in empty action.
Canto Eleven of Byron¡¯s Don Juan begins as follows:
When Bishop Berkeley said "there was no matter,"
And proved it¡ª'twas no matter what he said:
They say his system 'tis in vain to batter,
Too subtle for the airiest human head;
And yet who can believe it! I would shatter
Gladly all matters down to stone or lead,
Or adamant, to find the World a spirit,
And wear my head, denying that I wear it.
The stanza¡¯s last line brings to mind the English title of VN¡¯s novel Priglashenie na kazn¡¯ (1935), Invitation to a Beheading. The epigraph to IB is from the invented French thinker Delalande:
Comme un fou se croit Dieu
nous nous croyons mortels.
Delalande. Discours sur les ombres
Describing the death of Alexander Yakovlevich Chernyshevski (a character in VN¡¯s novel Dar, 1937), Fyodor Konstantinovich Godunov-Cherdyntsev (the main character and narrator in ¡°The Gift¡±) also quotes Delalande¡¯s Discours sur les ombres:
§¬§à§Ô§Õ§Ñ §à§Õ§ß§Ñ§Ø§Õ§í §æ§â§Ñ§ß§è§å§Ù§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à §Þ§í§ã§Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§ñ Delalande §ß§Ñ §é§î§Ú§ç-§ä§à §á§à§ç§à§â§à§ß§Ñ§ç §ã§á§â§à§ã§Ú§Ý§Ú, §á§à§é§Ö§Þ§å §à§ß §ß§Ö §à§Ò§ß§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ô§à§Ý§à§Ó§í (ne se d¨¦couvre pas), §à§ß §à§ä§Ó§Ö§é§Ñ§Ý: §ñ §Ø§Õ§å, §é§ä§à§Ò§í §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§î §ß§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý§Ñ §á§Ö§â§Ó§Ñ§ñ (qu¡¯elle se d¨¦couvre la premi¨¨re). §£ §ï§ä§à§Þ §Ö§ã§ä§î §Þ§Ö§ä§Ñ§æ§Ú§Ù§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §ß§Ö§Ô§Ñ§Ý§Ñ§ß§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§î, §ß§à §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§î §Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ö §ã§ä§à§Ú§ä. §¢§à§ñ§Ù§ß§î §â§à§Ø§Õ§Ñ§Ö§ä §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§Ô§à§Ó§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §Ò§Ý§Ñ§Ô§à§Ô§à§Ó§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ú§ä §Ø§Ö§â§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§Ú§Ü, §Ö§Ô§à §Õ§í§Þ §Ó§à§ã§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §Ü §ß§Ö§Ò§å, §ä§Ñ§Þ §á§â§Ú§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§Ö§ä §à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ù §Ü§â§í§Ý, §Ú §ã§Ü§Ý§à§ß§×§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ò§à§ñ§Ù§ß§î §Ü §ß§Ö§Þ§å §à§Ò§â§Ñ§ë§Ñ§Ö§ä §Þ§à§Ý§Ú§ä§Ó§å. §²§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ô§Ú§ñ §Ú§Þ§Ö§Ö§ä §ä§Ñ§Ü§à§Ö §Ø§Ö §à§ä§ß§à§ê§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §Ü §Ù§Ñ§Ô§â§à§Ò§ß§à§Þ§å §ã§à§ã§ä§à§ñ§ß§Ú§ð §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§Ü§Ñ, §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Ö §Ú§Þ§Ö§Ö§ä §Þ§Ñ§ä§Ö§Þ§Ñ§ä§Ú§Ü§Ñ §Ü §Ö§Ô§à §ã§à§ã§ä§à§ñ§ß§Ú§ð §Ù§Ö§Þ§ß§à§Þ§å: §ä§à §Ú §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Ö §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §å§ã§Ý§à§Ó§Ú§ñ §Ú§Ô§â§í. §£§Ö§â§Ñ §Ó §¢§à§Ô§Ñ §Ú §Ó§Ö§â§Ñ §Ó §è§Ú§æ§â§å: §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§ß§Ñ§ñ §Ú§ã§ä§Ú§ß§Ñ, §Ú§ã§ä§Ú§ß§Ñ §Þ§Ö§ã§ä§Ñ. §Á §Ù§ß§Ñ§ð, §é§ä§à §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§î §ã§Ñ§Þ§Ñ §á§à §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §ß§Ú§Ü§Ñ§Ü §ß§Ö §ã§Ó§ñ§Ù§Ñ§ß§Ñ §ã §Ó§ß§Ö§Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§Ö§ß§ß§à§Û §à§Ò§Ý§Ñ§ã§ä§î§ð, §Ú§Ò§à §Õ§Ó§Ö§â§î §Ö§ã§ä§î §Ý§Ú§ê§î §Ó§í§ç§à§Õ §Ú§Ù §Õ§à§Þ§Ñ, §Ñ §ß§Ö §é§Ñ§ã§ä§î §Ö§Ô§à §à§Ü§â§Ö§ã§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú, §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Û §ñ§Ó§Ý§ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Õ§Ö§â§Ö§Ó§à §Ú§Ý§Ú §ç§à§Ý§Þ. §£§í§Û§ä§Ú §Ü§Ñ§Ü-§ß§Ú§Ò§å§Õ§î §ß§å§Ø§ß§à, «§ß§à §ñ §à§ä§Ü§Ñ§Ù§í§Ó§Ñ§ð§ã§î §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö§ä§î §Ó §Õ§Ó§Ö§â§Ú §Ò§à§Ý§î§ê§Ö, §é§Ö§Þ §Õ§í§â§å, §Õ§Ñ §ä§à, §é§ä§à §ã§Õ§Ö§Ý§Ñ§Ý§Ú §ã§ä§à§Ý§ñ§â §Ú §á§Ý§à§ä§ß§Ú§Ü» (Delalande, Discours sur les ombres p. 45 et ante). §°§á§ñ§ä§î §Ø§Ö: §ß§Ö§ã§é§Ñ§ã§ä§ß§Ñ§ñ §Þ§Ñ§â§ê§â§å§ä§ß§Ñ§ñ §Þ§í§ã§Ý§î, §ã §Ü§à§ä§à§â§à§Û §Õ§Ñ§Ó§ß§à §ã§Ó§í§Ü§ã§ñ §é§Ö§Ý§à§Ó§Ö§é§Ö§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §â§Ñ§Ù§å§Þ (§Ø§Ú§Ù§ß§î §Ó §Ó§Ú§Õ§Ö §ß§Ö§Ü§à§Ö§Ô§à §á§å§ä§Ú) §Ö§ã§ä§î §Ô§Ý§å§á§Ñ§ñ §Ú§Ý§Ý§ð§Ù§Ú§ñ: §Þ§í §ß§Ú§Ü§å§Õ§Ñ §ß§Ö §Ú§Õ§×§Þ, §Þ§í §ã§Ú§Õ§Ú§Þ §Õ§à§Þ§Ñ. §©§Ñ§Ô§â§à§Ò§ß§à§Ö §à§Ü§â§å§Ø§Ñ§Ö§ä §ß§Ñ§ã §Ó§ã§Ö§Ô§Õ§Ñ, §Ñ §Ó§à§Ó§ã§Ö §ß§Ö §Ý§Ö§Ø§Ú§ä §Ó §Ü§à§ß§è§Ö §Ü§Ñ§Ü§à§Ô§à-§ä§à §á§å§ä§Ö§ê§Ö§ã§ä§Ó§Ú§ñ. §£ §Ù§Ö§Þ§ß§à§Þ §Õ§à§Þ§Ö §Ó§Þ§Ö§ã§ä§à §à§Ü§ß§Ñ ¨C §Ù§Ö§â§Ü§Ñ§Ý§à; §Õ§Ó§Ö§â§î §Õ§à §á§à§â§í §Õ§à §Ó§â§Ö§Þ§Ö§ß§Ú §Ù§Ñ§ä§Ó§à§â§Ö§ß§Ñ; §ß§à §Ó§à§Ù§Õ§å§ç §Ó§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä §ã§Ü§Ó§à§Ù§î §ë§Ö§Ý§Ú. «§¯§Ñ§Ú§Ò§à§Ý§Ö§Ö §Õ§à§ã§ä§å§á§ß§í§Û §Õ§Ý§ñ §ß§Ñ§ê§Ú§ç §Õ§à§Þ§à§ã§Ö§Õ§ß§í§ç §é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó §à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ù §Ò§å§Õ§å§ë§Ö§Ô§à §á§à§ã§ä§Ú§Ø§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §à§Ü§â§Ö§ã§ä§ß§à§ã§ä§Ú §Õ§à§Ý§Ø§Ö§ß§ã§ä§Ó§å§ð§ë§Ö§Û §â§Ñ§ã§Ü§â§í§ä§î§ã§ñ §ß§Ñ§Þ §á§à §â§Ñ§ã§á§Ñ§Õ§Ö §ä§Ö§Ý§Ñ, §ï§ä§à ¨C §à§ã§Ó§à§Ò§à§Ø§Õ§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §Õ§å§ç§Ñ §Ú§Ù §Ô§Ý§Ñ§Ù§ß§Ú§è §á§Ý§à§ä§Ú §Ú §á§â§Ö§Ó§â§Ñ§ë§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §ß§Ñ§ê§Ö §Ó §à§Õ§ß§à §ã§Ó§à§Ò§à§Õ§ß§à§Ö §ã§á§Ý§à§ê§ß§à§Ö §à§Ü§à, §Ù§Ñ§â§Ñ§Ù §Ó§Ú§Õ§ñ§ë§Ö§Ö §Ó§ã§Ö §ã§ä§à§â§à§ß§í §ã§Ó§Ö§ä§Ñ, §Ú§Ý§Ú, §Ú§ß§Ñ§é§Ö §Ô§à§Ó§à§â§ñ: §ã§Ó§Ö§â§ç§é§å§Ó§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§à§Ö §á§â§à§Ù§â§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §Þ§Ú§â§Ñ §á§â§Ú §ß§Ñ§ê§Ö§Þ §Ó§ß§å§ä§â§Ö§ß§ß§Ö§Þ §å§é§Ñ§ã§ä§Ú§Ú» (§ä§Ñ§Þ §Ø§Ö, §ã§ä§â. 64). §¯§à §Ó§ã§Ö §ï§ä§à §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ã§Ú§Þ§Ó§à§Ý§í, §ã§Ú§Þ§Ó§à§Ý§í, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§í§Ö §ã§ä§Ñ§ß§à§Ó§ñ§ä§ã§ñ §à§Ò§å§Ù§à§Û §Õ§Ý§ñ §Þ§í§ã§Ý§Ú §Ó §ä§à §Þ§Ô§ß§à§Ó§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §à§ß§Ñ §á§â§Ú§Ô§Ý§ñ§Õ§Ú§ä§ã§ñ §Ü §ß§Ú§Þ¡
When the French thinker Delalande was asked at somebody¡¯s funeral why he did not uncover himself (ne se d¨¦couvre pas), he replied: ¡°I am waiting for death to do it first¡± (qu¡¯elle se d¨¦couvre la premi¨¨re). There is a lack of metaphysical gallantry in this, but death deserves no more. Fear gives birth to sacred awe, sacred awe erects a sacrificial altar, its smoke ascends to the sky, there assumes the shape of wings, and bowing fear addresses a prayer to it. Religion has the same relation to man¡¯s heavenly condition that mathematics has to his earthly one: both the one and the other are merely the rules of the game. Belief in God and belief in numbers: local truth and truth of location. I know that death in itself is in no way connected with the topography of the hereafter, for a door is merely the exit from the house and not a part of its surroundings, like a tree or a hill. One has to get out somehow, ¡°but I refuse to see in a door more than a hole, and a carpenter¡¯s job¡± (Delalande, Discours sur les ombres, p. 45). And then again: the unfortunate image of a ¡°road¡± to which the human mind has become accustomed (life as a kind of journey) is a stupid illusion: we are not going anywhere, we are sitting at home. The other world surrounds us always and is not at all at the end of some pilgrimage. In our earthly house, windows are replaced by mirrors; the door, until a given time, is closed; but air comes in through the cracks. ¡°For our stay-at-home senses the most accessible image of our future comprehension of those surroundings which are due to be revealed to us with the disintegration of the body is the liberation of the soul from the eye-sockets of the flesh and our transformation into one complete and free eye, which can simultaneously see in all directions, or to put it differently: a supersensory insight into the world accompanied by our inner participation.¡± (Ibid. p. 64). But all this is only symbols¡ªsymbols which become a burden to the mind as soon as it takes a close look at them¡. (Chapter Five)
Poor Alexander Yakovlevich went mad after the suicide of his son Yasha. Similarly, Professor Vsevolod Botkin (an American scholar of Russian descent) went mad and became Shade, Kinbote and Gradus after the tragic death of his daughter Nadezhda (Hazel Shade of Kinbote¡¯s Commentary).
In the same letter of June 24-25, 1824, to Vyazemski Pushkin mentions Count Vorontsov (the governor of New Russia who was Pushkin¡¯s chief in Odessa):
§Á §Ø§Õ§Ñ§Ý §à§ä§ì§Ö§Ù§Õ§Ñ §´§â§å§Ò§Ö§è§Ü§à§Ô§à, §é§ä§à§Ò §ß§Ñ§á§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§î §ä§Ö§Ò§Ö §ã§á§å§ã§ä§ñ §â§å§Ü§Ñ§Ó§Ñ. §¯§Ñ§é§ß§å §ã §ä§à§Ô§à, §é§ä§à §Ó§ã§Ö§Ô§à §Ò§Ý§Ú§Ø§Ö §Ü§Ñ§ã§Ñ§Ö§ä§ã§ñ §Õ§à §Þ§Ö§ß§ñ. §Á §á§à§ã§ã§à§â§Ú§Ý§ã§ñ §ã §£§à§â§à§ß§è§à§Ó§í§Þ §Ú §Ù§Ñ§Ó§×§Ý §ã §ß§Ú§Þ §á§à§Ý§Ö§Þ§Ú§é§Ö§ã§Ü§å§ð §á§Ö§â§Ö§á§Ú§ã§Ü§å, §Ü§à§ä§à§â§Ñ§ñ §Ü§à§ß§é§Ú§Ý§Ñ§ã§î §ã §Þ§à§Ö§Û §ã§ä§à§â§à§ß§í §á§â§à§ã§î§Ò§à§ð §Ó §à§ä§ã§ä§Ñ§Ó§Ü§å.
In Zhizn¡¯ Chernyshevskogo (¡°The Life of Chernyshevski¡±), Chapter Four of ¡°The Gift,¡± Fyodor points out that Chernyshevski (a radical critic) repeated Vorontsov¡¯s words about Pushkin:
§¤§à§Ó§à§â§ñ, §é§ä§à §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß §Ò§í§Ý «§ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ò§í§Þ §á§à§Õ§â§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§Ö§Þ §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß§Ñ», §¹§Ö§â§ß§í§ê§Ö§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§Û §é§å§Õ§à§Ó§Ú§ë§ß§à §ä§à§é§ß§à §Ó§à§ã§á§â§à§Ú§Ù§Ó§à§Õ§Ú§Ý §æ§â§Ñ§Ù§å §Ô§â§Ñ§æ§Ñ §£§à§â§à§ß§è§à§Ó§Ñ: «§³§Ý§Ñ§Ò§í§Û §á§à§Õ§â§Ñ§Ø§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§î §Ý§à§â§Õ§Ñ §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß§Ñ». §ª§Ù§Ý§ð§Ò§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§Ñ§ñ §Þ§í§ã§Ý§î §¥§à§Ò§â§à§Ý§ð§Ò§à§Ó§Ñ, §é§ä§à «§å §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß§Ñ §ß§Ö§Õ§à§ã§ä§Ñ§ä§à§Ü §á§â§à§é§ß§à§Ô§à, §Ô§Ý§å§Ò§à§Ü§à§Ô§à §à§Ò§â§Ñ§Ù§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ» ¨C §Õ§â§å§Ø§Ö§ã§Ü§à§Ö §Ñ§å§Ü§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö §ã §Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ö§é§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö§Þ §ä§à§Ô§à §Ø§Ö §£§à§â§à§ß§è§à§Ó§Ñ: «§¯§Ö§Ý§î§Ù§ñ §Ò§í§ä§î §Ú§ã§ä§Ú§ß§ß§í§Þ §á§à§ï§ä§à§Þ, §ß§Ö §â§Ñ§Ò§à§ä§Ñ§ñ §á§à§ã§ä§à§ñ§ß§ß§à §Õ§Ý§ñ §â§Ñ§ã§ê§Ú§â§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §ã§Ó§à§Ú§ç §á§à§Ù§ß§Ñ§ß§Ú§Û, §Ñ §Ú§ç §å §ß§Ö§Ô§à §ß§Ö§Õ§à§ã§ä§Ñ§ä§à§é§ß§à». «§¥§Ý§ñ §Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §ß§Ö§Õ§à§ã§ä§Ñ§ä§à§é§ß§à §ã§Þ§Ñ§ã§ä§Ö§â§Ú§ä§î §¦§Ó§Ô§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ §°§ß§Ö§Ô§Ú§ß§Ñ», ¨C §á§Ú§ã§Ñ§Ý §¯§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ú§ß, §ã§â§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ú§Ó§Ñ§ñ §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß§Ñ §ã §á§à§â§ä§ß§í§Þ, §Ú§Ù§à§Ò§â§Ö§ä§Ñ§ä§Ö§Ý§Ö§Þ §Ø§Ú§Ý§Ö§ä§ß§í§ç §å§Ù§à§â§à§Ó, §Ú §Ù§Ñ§Ü§Ý§ð§é§Ñ§ñ §å§Þ§ã§ä§Ó§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §ã§à§ð§Ù §ã §µ§Ó§Ñ§â§à§Ó§í§Þ, §Þ§Ú§ß§Ú§ã§ä§â§à§Þ §ß§Ñ§â§à§Õ§ß§à§Ô§à §á§â§à§ã§Ó§Ö§ë§Ö§ß§Ú§ñ, §ã§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ó§ê§Ú§Þ §á§à §ã§Ý§å§é§Ñ§ð §ã§Þ§Ö§â§ä§Ú §±§å§ê§Ü§Ú§ß§Ñ: «§±§Ú§ã§Ñ§ä§î §ã§ä§Ú§ê§Ü§Ú §ß§Ö §Ù§ß§Ñ§é§Ú§ä §Ö§ë§Ö §á§â§à§ç§à§Õ§Ú§ä§î §Ó§Ö§Ý§Ú§Ü§à§Ö §á§à§á§â§Ú§ë§Ö».
When Chernyshevski said that Pushkin was ¡°only a poor imitator of Byron,¡± he reproduced with monstrous accuracy the definition given by Count Vorontsov (Pushkin¡¯s boss in Odessa): ¡°A poor imitator of Lord Byron.¡± Dobrolyubov¡¯s favorite idea that ¡°Pushkin lacked a solid, deep education¡± is in friendly chime with Vorontsov¡¯s remark: ¡°One cannot be a genuine poet without constantly working to broaden one¡¯s knowledge, and his is insufficient.¡± ¡°To be a genius it is not enough to have manufactured Eugene Onegin,¡± wrote the progressive Nadezhdin, comparing Pushkin to a tailor, an inventor of waistcoat patterns, and thus concluding an intellectual pact with the reactionary Count Uvarov, Minister of Education, who remarked on the occasion of Pushkin¡¯s death: ¡°To write jingles does not mean yet to achieve a great career.¡±
The surname Nadezhdin comes from nadezhda (hope). In his famous epigram (1824) on Vorontsov Pushkin mentions nadezhda:
§±§à§Ý§å-§Þ§Ú§Ý§à§â§Õ, §á§à§Ý§å-§Ü§å§á§Ö§è,
§±§à§Ý§å-§Þ§å§Õ§â§Ö§è, §á§à§Ý§å-§ß§Ö§Ó§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ñ,
§±§à§Ý§å-§á§à§Õ§Ý§Ö§è, §ß§à §Ö§ã§ä§î §ß§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§Õ§Ñ,
§¹§ä§à §Ò§å§Õ§Ö§ä §á§à§Ý§ß§í§Þ §ß§Ñ§Ü§à§ß§Ö§è.
Half-milord, half-merchant,
Half-sage, half-ignoramus,
Half-scoundrel, but there is hope
That he will be a full one at last.
There is a hope that, when Kinbote completes his work on Shade¡¯s poem and commits suicide (on October 19, 1959, the anniversary of Pushkin¡¯s Lyceum), Botkin will be "full" again.
According to Fyodor, Lermontov came off luckier with the radical critics:
§³§é§Ñ§ã§ä§Ý§Ú§Ó§Ö§Ö §à§Ü§Ñ§Ù§Ñ§Ý§ã§ñ §§Ö§â§Þ§à§ß§ä§à§Ó. §¦§Ô§à §á§â§à§Ù§Ñ §Ú§ã§ä§à§â§Ô§Ý§Ñ §å §¢§Ö§Ý§Ú§ß§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à (§Ú§Þ§Ö§Ó§ê§Ö§Ô§à §ã§Ý§Ñ§Ò§à§ã§ä§î §Ü §Ù§Ñ§Ó§à§Ö§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ú§ñ§Þ §ä§Ö§ç§ß§Ú§Ü§Ú) §ß§Ö§à§Ø§Ú§Õ§Ñ§ß§ß§à§Ö §Ú §á§â§Ö§Þ§Ú§Ý§à§Ö §ã§â§Ñ§Ó§ß§Ö§ß§Ú§Ö §±§Ö§é§à§â§Ú§ß§Ñ §ã §á§Ñ§â§à§Ó§à§Ù§à§Þ, §ã§à§Ü§â§å§ê§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§Þ §ß§Ö§à§ã§ä§à§â§à§Ø§ß§à §á§à§á§Ñ§Õ§Ñ§ð§ë§Ú§ç§ã§ñ §á§à§Õ §Ö§Ô§à §Ü§à§Ý§×§ã§Ñ. §£ §Ö§Ô§à §ã§ä§Ú§ç§Ñ§ç §â§Ñ§Ù§ß§à§é§Ú§ß§è§í §á§à§é§å§ñ§Ý§Ú §ä§à, §é§ä§à §á§à§Ù§Ø§Ö §ã§ä§Ñ§Ý§à §ß§Ñ§Ù§í§Ó§Ñ§ä§î§ã§ñ «§ß§Ñ§Õ§ã§à§ß§à§Ó§ë§Ú§ß§à§Û». §£ §ï§ä§à§Þ §ã§Þ§í§ã§Ý§Ö §§Ö§â§Þ§à§ß§ä§à§Ó ¨C §á§Ö§â§Ó§í§Û §ß§Ñ§Õ§ã§à§ß §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§à§Û §Ý§Ú§ä§Ö§â§Ñ§ä§å§â§í. §²§Ú§ä§Þ, §ä§à§ß, §Ò§Ý§Ö§Õ§ß§í§Û, §ã§Ý§Ö§Ù§Ñ§Þ§Ú §â§Ñ§Ù§Ò§Ñ§Ó§Ý§Ö§ß§ß§í§Û §ã§ä§Ú§ç §Ô§â§Ñ§Ø§Õ§Ñ§ß§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §Þ§à§ä§Ú§Ó§à§Ó §Õ§à «§£§í §Ø§Ö§â§ä§Ó§à§ð §á§Ñ§Ý§Ú» §Ó§Ü§Ý§ð§é§Ú§ä§Ö§Ý§î§ß§à, §Ó§ã§Ö §ï§ä§à §á§à§ê§Ý§à §à§ä §ä§Ñ§Ü§Ú§ç §Ý§Ö§â§Þ§à§ß§ä§à§Ó§ã§Ü§Ú§ç §ã§ä§â§à§Ü, §Ü§Ñ§Ü: «§±§â§à§ë§Ñ§Û, §ß§Ñ§ê §ä§à§Ó§Ñ§â§Ú§ë, §ß§Ö§Õ§à§Ý§Ô§à §ä§í §Ø§Ú§Ý, §á§Ö§Ó§Ö§è §ã §Ô§à§Ý§å§Ò§í§Þ§Ú §à§é§Ñ§Þ§Ú, §Ý§Ú§ê§î §Ü§â§Ö§ã§ä §Õ§Ö§â§Ö§Ó§ñ§ß§ß§í§Û §ã§Ö§Ò§Ö §Ù§Ñ§ã§Ý§å§Ø§Ú§Ý §Õ§Ñ §Ó§Ö§é§ß§å§ð §á§Ñ§Þ§ñ§ä§î §Þ§Ö§Ø §ß§Ñ§Þ§Ú». §°§é§Ñ§â§à§Ó§Ñ§ß§Ú§Ö §§Ö§â§Þ§à§ß§ä§à§Ó§Ñ, §Õ§Ñ§Ý§î §Ö§Ô§à §á§à§ï§Ù§Ú§Ú, §â§Ñ§Û§ã§Ü§Ñ§ñ §Ö§× §Ø§Ú§Ó§à§á§Ú§ã§ß§à§ã§ä§î §Ú §á§â§à§Ù§â§Ñ§é§ß§í§Û §á§â§Ú§Ó§Ü§å§ã §ß§Ö§Ò§Ñ §Ó§à §Ó§Ý§Ñ§Ø§ß§à§Þ §ã§ä§Ú§ç§Ö ¨C §Ò§í§Ý§Ú, §Ü§à§ß§Ö§é§ß§à, §ã§à§Ó§Ö§â§ê§Ö§ß§ß§à §ß§Ö§Õ§à§ã§ä§å§á§ß§í §á§à§ß§Ú§Þ§Ñ§ß§Ú§ð §Ý§ð§Õ§Ö§Û §ã§Ü§Ý§Ñ§Õ§Ñ §¹§Ö§â§ß§í§ê§Ö§Ó§ã§Ü§à§Ô§à.
Lermontov came off luckier. His prose jerked from Belinski (who had a weakness for the conquests of technology) the surprising and most charming comparison of Pechorin to a steam engine, shattering all who were careless enough to get under its wheels. In his poetry the middle-class intellectuals felt something of the sociolyrical strain that later came to be called ¡°Nadsonism.¡± In this sense Lermontov was the first Nadson of Russian literature. The rhythm, the tone, the pale, tear-diluted idiom of ¡°civic¡± verse up to and including ¡°as victims you fell in the fateful contest¡± (the famous revolutionary song of the first years of our century), all of this goes back to such Lermontov lines as:
Farewell, our dear comrade! Alas, upon earth
Not long did you dwell, blue-eyed singer!
A plain cross of wood you have earned, and with us
Your memory always shall linger¡.
Lermontov¡¯s real magic, the melting vistas in his poetry, its paradisial picturesqueness and the transparent tang of the celestial in his moist verse¡ªthese, of course, were completely inaccessible to the understanding of men of Chernyshevski¡¯s stamp. (Chapter Four)
In his poem Net, ya ne Bayron, ya drugoy¡ (¡°No, I¡¯m not Byron, I¡¯m another¡¡± 1832) Lermontov mentions nadezhd razbitykh gruz (a load of broken hopes) that lies in his soul, as in the ocean:
§¯§Ö§ä, §ñ §ß§Ö §¢§Ñ§Û§â§à§ß, §ñ §Õ§â§å§Ô§à§Û,
§¦§ë§× §ß§Ö§Ó§Ö§Õ§à§Þ§í§Û §Ú§Ù§Ò§â§Ñ§ß§ß§Ú§Ü,
§¬§Ñ§Ü §à§ß, §Ô§à§ß§Ú§Þ§í§Û §Þ§Ú§â§à§Þ §ã§ä§â§Ñ§ß§ß§Ú§Ü,
§¯§à §ä§à§Ý§î§Ü§à §ã §â§å§ã§ã§Ü§à§ð §Õ§å§ê§à§Û.
§Á §â§Ñ§ß§î§ê§Ö §ß§Ñ§é§Ñ§Ý, §Ü§à§ß§é§å §â§Ñ§ß§Ö,
§®§à§Û §å§Þ §ß§Ö§Þ§ß§à§Ô§à §ã§à§Ó§Ö§â§ê§Ú§ä;
§£ §Õ§å§ê§Ö §Þ§à§Ö§Û, §Ü§Ñ§Ü §Ó §à§Ü§Ö§Ñ§ß§Ö,
§¯§Ñ§Õ§Ö§Ø§Õ §â§Ñ§Ù§Ò§Ú§ä§í§ç §Ô§â§å§Ù §Ý§Ö§Ø§Ú§ä.
§¬§ä§à §Þ§à§Ø§Ö§ä, §à§Ü§Ö§Ñ§ß §å§Ô§â§ð§Þ§í§Û,
§´§Ó§à§Ú §Ú§Ù§Ó§Ö§Õ§Ñ§ä§î §ä§Ñ§Û§ß§í? §¬§ä§à
§´§à§Ý§á§Ö §Þ§à§Ú §â§Ñ§ã§ã§Ü§Ñ§Ø§Ö§ä §Õ§å§Þ§í?
§Á - §Ú§Ý§Ú §Ò§à§Ô - §Ú§Ý§Ú §ß§Ú§Ü§ä§à!
Lermontov¡¯s poem ends in the lines:
Who will tell the crowd my thoughts?
Myself - or God - or nobody.
Bog + nikto + ladon¡¯ + Nabokov = Botkin + ogon¡¯ + bok + Aldanov
Bog - God
nikto - nobody
ladon¡¯ - palm (of a hand)
ogon¡¯ - fire
bok ¨C side
Aldanov - Mark Aldanov (1886-1957), a writer; the main character in Aldanov¡¯s novel Mogila voina (¡°A Soldier¡¯s Grave,¡± 1938) is Byron; Aldanov¡¯s novel has the epigraph from Byron¡¯s poem On This Day I Complete My Thirty-Sixth Year (1824):
Seek out -- less often sought than found
A soldier's grave, for thee the best,
Then look around and choose thy ground,
And take thy rest.
In the first stanza of his last poem Byron says that he cannot be beloved:
'Tis time this heart should be unmoved,
Since others it has ceased to move:
Yet though I cannot be beloved,
Still let me love!
Kinbote imagines that he is Charles the Beloved, the last king of Zembla. Zembla is mentioned by Pope in Essay on Man. Ombre is almost hombre (¡®man¡¯ in Spanish).
Alexey Sklyarenko