61: how: is italicized to emphasize how hard it is for the hero to deal with his wife’s death. Leaving the wife’s clothing with him would bring even more struggle however throwing them away would be like drowning a kitten.
62: we: refers to himself and to his dead wife. VV still can’t accept Iris’ death. In the same manner he mistakens prostitute’s back for his wife’s.
62: izmena: Russian term that has two meanings 1) betrayal, 2) change and transformation. The thought comes to the protagonist when he is lying in bed with a prostitute. He uses “izmena” to say how his love for Iris turned into a whore and was bewitched. VV feels disgust from the thought of how he turned from sleeping with the nymph to sleeping with a “witch” (a prostitute).
63: Bolshevik coup: the immediate insurrection against the Provisional Government that was initiated by Lenin and occurred in October 1917. The Red Guard and other revolutionaries took control over the post offices, telegraph offices, electric works, railroad stations. Stepan Ivanochich, who was a prominent journalist, had to flee to safe his job and money.
63: vecher: translated into English as “evening”. The word often referred to the literature evenings when poets, writers and others get together to share poems, read novels, perform skits.
63: Novosti: Russian for news, a magazine.
64: John Keats (1795-1821): an English Romantic poet whose work is filled with synesthetic details (similar to Nabokov’s). He is known for combining senses into a unique image (Ode to a Nightingale). Throughout the novel, Vadim translated Keats’ novels to demonstrate to the reader his character’s sentimental side. The fact that Vadim is able to translate Keats’ complex poems alludes to his talent.
65: the board’s proximal edge had a thoughtful incurvature to accommodate an author’s abdomen: along with “overaffectionate seat” suggest that VV put on some weight and perhaps abandoned some of his work
65: The Red Top Hat (later referred to as Krasnyy Tsilindr): Nabokov refers to the Invitation to the Beheading as The Red Top Hat. The name perhaps alludes to the fact that for Nabokov heads are as easily removable as hats.
66: Paris: VV spends his time in the city after the death of his wife. He regards the city as the place where he can start his life and writing from the blank sheet.
Annotated by Olena Ostasheva