44: A love poem: Nabokov did write and publish some poetry in his life, most notably Pale Fire. note that the year the love poem was written 1922, the same year Nabokov’s father was assassinated.

44: The treacherous music: Nabokov notably disliked music. See this interview in Playboy.

45: the color schemes of evening and dawn: Colors play a critical role in LATH as in other Nabokovian novels. For more, see here.

45: classical light-orange tint with an oblique bluish-black shark crossing it: See note above.

45: Look at the Sabbath witches: The term evokes the title of the work at hand as well as Goya’s famous painting (not to mention the beginning of Macbeth).

46: Stridulating: (verb): (of an insect, especially a male cricket or grasshopper) make a shrill sound by rubbing the legs, wings, or other parts of the body together.

46: That splendid impersonation: The impersonator, the double, the mirror, etc. constitutes a central theme that cuts across Nabokov’s corpus.

46: Inamorata: (noun): a person’s female lover.

46: A sensual start: Sensuousness is another key Nabokovian term.

46: The W.C: Short for Water Closet (bathroom).

47: A very short, salmon-colored affair: Pale colors like salmon were often associated with the titular character in Ada.

47: Kissing: The use here paired with the previous entry harkens back to Ada, Nabokov’s magnum opus involving “kissing” cousins.

47: Jacquot: The only time this name is used in the novel; there doesn’t appear to be any mysterious symbolism behind it.

47: He might butt in…to polish… that candlestick: typically subtle Nabokovian use of sexual innuendo.

47: still not as pink as your shirt: See earlier note on same page.

47: How far, how bright, how unchanged by eternity, how disfigured by time: Nabokov treats the theme of time and eternity extensively throughout his works, perhaps most notably in Speak, Memory and Ada.

47: Bread crumbs: The phrase harkens back the Hansel and Gretel fairytale, and it also suits Nabokov’s tendency to leave clues throughout his work that incentivize careful examination and rereading

47: Hot and hideous summer: A simple, beautiful use of alliteration that typifies the often subtle ways that Nabokov’s razor-sharp wit permeates every iota of his work.

48: A superhuman effort afforded me the sight of a salmon-pink shirt over the back of the chair: The aforementioned reference to Ada here discusses transcendence beyond the human. See the final part of that novel for more on that particular idea.