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| Polyommatus Icarus, the common blue |
Amateur lepidopterist and professional scribbler Vladimir Nabokov studied this particular species between bouts of savaging other writers or trying to dispose of Lolita (1955). He posited that all the modern variants in the New World probably arrived over the Bering Strait in five different waves millions of years ago and predicted when a certain wave probably reached South America. No one payed attention back in the 1940s, but researchers in the 2010s checked out his work and confirmed he was likely correct. Whatever your thoughts on Nabokov as a writer or person, you have to admit he was a pretty smart guy. As usual, I encourage you look it up yourself since I read about it when my kids were very small, maybe 2012? and am not willing to look it up for you today. I believe there's a book written on his butterfly studies as well.
I read Nabokov's essay on Hegel's dialectics about 30 years ago, I think. It was at least describing its workings, probably the only part of the essay I remember. This is my favorite visual representation of said dialectic (actually based on Kant's writing) because it reminds me of a butterfly's flight path:
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| Being(T) - Nothingness(A) -Becoming(S) |
As for Lolita, his wife Véra fished the manuscript from the garbage and convinced temperamental manbaby Vlad to publish it. We've heard this story about the wives of great men before...
[...]wife, muse, and ideal reader; his secretary, typist, editor, proof-reader, translator, and bibliographer; his agent, business manager, legal counsel, and chauffeur; his research assistant, teaching assistant, and professorial understudy.
~Brian Boyd
She really did everything for him. He couldn't even make his own coffee. Everything Vlad didn't want to learn himself, she taught herself to do. One of the single greatest images of them I have in my head is of Vladimir attired for his butterfly hunt and Véra following along, armed with her revolver to protect him.
Has anyone read Jenny Offill's novels? I like her writing though due to the bite-sized paragraph fragments, I sometimes feel I'm reading a serialized Twitter novel. Her author picture reminds me somewhat of Maggie Gyllenhall.
Art monsters only concern themselves with art, never mundane things. Nabokov didn’t even fold his umbrella. Véra licked his stamps for him.
~Jenny Offill, The Dept of Speculation
I was only reminded of this anecdote due to my daughter picking up my copy of Lolita and lugging her dictionary from room to room to look up some of the words. It's kinda cute. Yes, the phone could be used to look things up. As a smartypants, she knows her phone is a distraction too.
*****
"Vladimir's Blues" by Max Richter isn't about sadness. It's about VN's butterflies. If you've seen The Leftovers you've heard this piece. I think it's played whenever something sad or disturbing happens. So, like, every five minutes or so. The rest of The Blue Notebooks is sad and moody. Contemplative, one might say whilst sipping tea and staring at the rain. Tilda Swinton whispers selections from Kafka's notebooks and Milosz's poetry on various pieces. "On the Nature of Sunlight" is also on the album, most recently used in episode 3 of The Last of Us but it's been used in about one billion movies wherein something sad happens. The piece is in actuality a response to the US shock and awe attack on Iraq.
(Trust me. This OT was shortened by ~1000 words. You're welcome. And also I'm sorry.)
Imagine what you could accomplish if you had a dedicated assistant doing everything else for you. For free. What would you do with your time? Other than feel guilty every second like I would. Over to you.
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