214: I cannot be sure it was not again my fellow traveler, the black-hatted man: This references a man who has reappeared throughout Chapter 2 and 3 in whom Vadim has taken a particular interest (pages 207, 208, 216) because he “was practically the twin of someone [he] had known in Paris” (208.) Vadim’s careful attention to the man’s presence reveals a concern about privacy that was not uncommon in a period when foreigners or expatriates might be watched by the KGB on a visit to the Soviet Union. His fixation on the man’s resemblance to somebody from his past reveals Nabokov’s penchant for doubles in his literature. Since Vadim eventually recognizes the man as Oleg Orlov, a rather insignificant and bothersome character from his past, his lack of knowledge about the man’s identity prior to this realization serves as a manifestation of his dementia that continues to develop throughout the book.
214: Our National Poet: Pushkin is Russia’s National Poet. This refers to the Pushkin statue where Vadim and Dora met.
214: Wasted water: Water is an important motif in certain Nabokov works: it appears 19 times throughout LATH. In Ada especially, the motif manifests itself through Lucette’s watery death, the names of Aqua and Marina, and in many other forms.
214: Tsarskoseleski Statue: Tsarsko-Selski railway was a railway station in St. Petersburg referenced by Dostoyevski in his book “The Idiot.”
214: Miss Havemeyer: The Havemeyers were a wealthy and prominent American family in the early 20th century. Henry Havemeyer was president of the American Sugar Refining Company, and he and his wife Lousine were benefactors of Impressionist art. Nabokov reinforces the significance of this notable family name when he writes “her rather incredible name” after declaring the woman’s identity.
214: The Smolny: A compound of buildings in Saint Petersburg, one of which houses the City Governor’s Office. Lenin lived and worked there after the October Revolution of 1917.
215: Rosabel: A pet name for Bel. This adds to an extensive list of rose motifs throughout the novel : Ninella’s lakeside bungalow called “Rustic Roses”, the Rosedale town and Rosedale lake, Rose Brown the housemaid, Bel’s “rosebud mouth” (160), and lastly, a “rose-twined gallery” (251) in the final chapter of the novel. In literature roses traditionally hold a connotation of love. Although Nabokov himself would likely look down upon the cliché of a rose as a symbol of love, Vadim was a much less brilliant writer than Vladimir himself. Thus, in calling Bel “Rosabel” Vadim may hint at holding romantic love for her.
215: Formosan: Refers to Taiwan or to Taiwanese people.
215: A Kingdom by the Sea: See Part I, Chapter 8
215: Virginia: A parody of Dolores Haze’s character in Lolita.
215: Lola Sloan: Another allusion to Lo’s character in Lolita.
215: Bertram: A parody of Humbert Humbert in Lolita, as Bertram is an imperfect anagram of Humbert.
215: Al Garden: A parody of Clare Quilty in Lolita..
216: Oleg Orlov: See annotation for “the black-hatted man” above. Orlov is the name of a family of Russian nobility who were especially prominent in the 18th century. It is derived from the word “orel,” which means eagle.
216: Turgenev: A Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright whose works were significant in the Russian Realist movement.
217: littérateur: A French word that loosely means “a literary hack.”
217: Soviet pottage: A soup or stew. Alludes to the story of Esau (Gen 25:31), who sold his birthright for bread and a lentil pottage.
218: You are talking of some other book altogether: This response to an absurd and unfounded literary review of A Kingdom By The Sea was likely intended as a response to the criticism that Nabokov received for Lolita because of the book’s perverse subject matter. Nabokov resented and looked down upon these analyses, as he thought that moral quandaries about a book’s subject matter should not cloud a review of its literary merit.
218: Vetrov: Vladimir Vetrov was a KGB spy during the Cold War who served as a double agent for the French and released information to NATO and France about a covert Soviet Union program that aimed to copy certain Western technologies. With this reference, Orlov accuses Vadim of betraying his motherland. It is no coincidence that Vladimir Vetrov is another V.V.
218: Sharlatany: Russian for “charlatan.”
218: Our combined ages made 140: This was the age at which Job died. Job is the central figure in the Bible’s Book of Job, and is considered a prophet for the Abrahamic religions. As in Chapter 2, the numerous biblical references serve to provide a stark contrast to the Soviet Union’s perspective towards religion.
219: Muzhikian nose: Muzhik translates to “Russian peasant.”
219: They were red but intact: This continues the motif of the color red in this section of the book set in the Soviet Union. See “Red Moscow” and “incarnadine soap.”
219: As I looked to my wristwatch: Time is always an important theme in Nabokov’s works: he writes about watches 9 times and references clocks another 9 times throughout LATH. Ada especially has been analyzed as an exploration of the nature of time disguised as a love story, and a section called “The Texture of Time” constitutes a large portion of the book. Nabokov refers to “The Texture of Time” in the last chapter of LATH, when his fourth love, “you”, visits him in the hospital after reading it and states that it is “marred by a fatal philosophical flaw” (252).