Ada, or Ardor: a Family Chronicle is a 1969 novel by
Vladimir Nabokov, taking the form of the long
note Nabokov's longest novel, in fact memoirs of a psychiatrist around 1967 looking back at his 97 years of life. Rather than his career or philosophical thinking, however, the bulk of it concerns his over 80-year-long love affair with his "cousin" (actually sister), Ada from the title.
Ada contains examples of:
- Arc Words:
- Variations of "Ardors in arbors", "Ada's ardors in arbors", "Ardis' ardors in arbors", and so on.
- Destroy and forget.
- Aloof Darkhaired Girl: Ada
- Alternate History: Most of the world is under Anglo-American dominion, with the notable exception of Tartary, and electrical power is taboo, just for a start. The Golden Horde still rules, so it can be inferred that the point of divergence was in the 14th century, but this is unsure.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Lucette to Van and Ada.
- Aristocrats Are Evil: The Veen family whose male members have a long history of sexually fixating on very young girls. They are also contemptuous of ordinary people to the point where they often feel physical disgust around them.
- Band of Brothels: Villa Venus, a chain of exclusive brothels with a select aristocratic clientele.
- Berserk Button: The idea of Ada being unfaithful sends Van practically frothing. When an anonymous servant leaves a note implying the possibility, he dismisses the idea of learning more by "torturing the males, raping the females"... which, in itself, reveals the idea wasn't far from his mind.
- Big Fancy House: Ardis, which subtly parodies the manors that are a stock feature of much nineteenth and eighteenth century literature.
- Bile Fascination: In-universe. Van is devastated and enraged at the idea of Ada's unfaithfulness, but will obsessively pick at the details of her encounters and lovers.
- Brick Joke: During their first summer together Ada and Van return from a bike ride "with several pauses", whereupon Ada begins scarfing down food in front of her surprised mother, who asks "how many miles [she] rode" to be so famished. Ada smiles and replies "only seven." A decade later Lucette makes a comment regarding Van's surgical scar, "that looked to [her] at least eight inches long". Van mishears due to music playing nearby and "modestly" corrects her "Seven and a half."
- Brother–Sister Incest: The meat of the plot.
- Bungled Suicide:
- Van tries to shoot himself after his father warns him to stop his romance with Ada. However, the gun fails to fire.
- Lucette does succeed, but fails to make it as quick as she intended (mixing drugs and alcohol to drown unconscious; but she doesn't take enough to do so immediately).
- Chivalrous Pervert: Played with. Van Veen shows no chivalry towards sexually attractive women he considers low class, such as Blanche and the "fubsy pig-pink whorelet" who relieved him of his virginity. However he does shows some tenderness and gallantry towards women whose class matches his such as his half-sister Lucette and the child prostitutes at the Villa Venus which (in theory anyway) recruits from the aristocracy only.
- His father Demon Veen despite his taste for young girls is very concerned for Ada when he finds out she and Van are commiting incest and tries to force Van to end the relationship.
- Did Not Think This Through: Ada's plan to keep the pubescent Lucette from bothering them and satisfy her interest in Van "was not simple, was not clever, and moreover worked the wrong way". It involved “petting her in Ada’s presence, while kissing Ada at the same time, and by caressing and kissing Lucette when Ada was away”. Lucette's crush develops into a life-long obsession, and Van outright wonders if Ada did it on purpose.
- Direct Line to the Author: The book purports to be the dictated memoirs of Ivan Veen (the main character), with assistance from Ada. There's also an appendix by "Vivian Darkbloom".
- Everyone Has Lots of Sex: Our two protagonists are hypersexual to the point they'll get antsy if not able to satisfy themselves every couple hours. Van can't go two days without sex and has bedded hundreds of women; his father Demon is the same. The housemaids of Ardis sneak out every night to meet with their lovers. Averted with Lucette, however, who will fool around occasionally but deliberately remains a virgin in the hopes Van will be her first.
- French Maid: Blanche, as well as the appropriately-named French.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: There's quite a bit of Russian and French interpolated, including a two paragraph letter entirely in French. Vivian Darkbloom's appendix provides translations for all of this, though it's usually understandable enough from context.
- I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: Van to Lucette, with tragic results.
- I Have This Friend: Ada pulls off a double-screening of this. When Van notices she's sad after they reunite, she preludes the reason with a "parable", and describes the plot of a film wherein the heroine struggles between two inadequate lovers and her one true love; then she explains this parallels her struggle to decide the three courses she can see her life going. In reality, the "plot" is her current situation, told in such a way as to admit to, gives reasons and excuses toward, and plead Van's understanding and forgiveness for her affairs, "telling him everything, him not realizing she had".
- In Spite of a Nail: Despite some apparently rather large changes in 15th-century European geopolitics, the United States seems to be pretty much the same, or at least the continental 48 states. There are still Spanish and Native American place names, and all the mentioned states and cities seem to be the same.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Lucette as a child frequently and deliberately interrupts Van and Ada's lovemaking. Happens again after the latters' third reunion, opening a door to be greeted by Van's hairy ass. Ada and Lucette themselves are caught occasionally.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: To a degree. Van is quite a Jerkass to most people, elitist, condescending, lecherous, etc., but he loves his sisters and father.
- Kinky Spanking: Ada suggests Van that he should spank Lucette when she is being particularly annoying. Lucette is very disappointed when Van refuses to.
- Kissing Cousins: In theory.
- Law of Inverse Fertility: Averted, to the sex-crazed siblings' delight. After an unofficial diagnosis by two gypsy mistresses (who it's implied can somehow tell based on, ah... taste), Van gets tested and discovers he's completely sterile. It's also implied to be the result of they themselves being slightly inbred.
- Lecherous Licking: At one point before their romance proper begins Ada mentions having a "real tower" moment (three "real things" bringing her pleasure at once). One is the honey she's having with breakfast; the second, an interesting wasp to study. When Van asks after the third, she merely looks at him and begins licking honey off her fingers. He doesn't get it and walks away.
- The Lost Lenore: Ada and Van come to see Lucette as this. The former reflects years afterward that ideally Van should have married her and the three of them live in bliss at Ardis Hall.
- My Girl Is Not a Slut: Van is hurt and bothered by Ada's affairs, whereas he sees no problem with his own. Of course, in all fairness, she had many more, hers were continuous whereas his were on-and-off and she blatantly lied about them.
- Naked on Arrival: Ada and Van are both naked in their first appearance in the book, exploring the attic of Ardis Hall together.
- Nerds Are Sexy: Ada as a young girl is obsessed with entomology and botany, and virtually every man in her vicinity wants to bed her.
- Never My Fault: Ada can engage in this occasionally. When her (terrible) plan to keep Lucette away by petting and kissing her backfires she blames Van for encouraging Lucette's affection. And when trying to explain her unfaithfulness she blames Van ("I don't accuse you!") for triggering an uncontrollable sex drive.
- Nice to the Waiter: Averted, especially with Van who treats the hired help as subhuman.
- Pervert Parent: Lucette offhandedly mentions that Dan Deen could get handsy with her at times.
- One-Steve Limit: Two characters are named "Walter D. Veen", so they're distinguished by their middle names.
- Open Secret: Ada eventually learns that she and Van's amorous adventures had essentially become a local legend across the countryside around Ardis Hall. Far from finding it scandalous, it's actually considered fascinating and romantic; Ada revels in this, but Van is understandably concerned.
- Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions: Religion exists, but it's much less popular and treated far more disdainfully than in reality. Marina, admittedly not very smart, is even unaware that Judaism predates Christianity.
- Parental Incest:
- Mention is made of a man who impregnates his 5-year-old granddaughter (while asleep
, supposedly). Five years later, he impregnates the resulting girl, again supposedly while asleep. - Lucette implies that Dan Deen would try to molest her, though she managed to warn him off.
- Pun: Pops up now and then. At one point Ada claims to have erotomania for which the cure is "extract of scarlet aril, the flesh of yew, just only yew". Lucette, on meeting Van's lover Mlle. Condor, pulls a French one by emphasizing the first syllable ("con d'or" means "golden cunt").
- Redhead In Green: Lucette seldom wears any other color.
- Refuge in Audacity: When Van discovers his "aunt" suspects his relationship with Lucette and not at all with Ada, he brazenly mentions he had his first girl at fourteen (the age he met Ada) and describes her exactly like Ada. It flies over Marina's head.
- Replacement Goldfish:
- During Van and Ada's second separation, Ada makes Lucette her primary sexual partner.
- Van became one for Aqua after she miscarried.
- Revenge Porn Blackmail: Kim, a former member of the Ardis household with a hobby in photography, demands $1000 from Ada in exchange for a photo album containing, among other things, pictures of she and Van making love. Van correctly guesses that Kim has further evidence to further extort them with, so has Kim tracked down, brutally beaten, and the pictures destroyed.
- Russia Is Western: Most of the world is ruled by a Russo-Anglo-American dominion (North America is settled extensively by Russians, and Russian is one of its languages, along with English and French). They are fighting the Golden Horde in this world's version of the Cold War.
- Secret-Keeper: The household staff of Ardis - bar the more oblivious members - quickly realize what's going on between Van and Ada, and most keep quiet or even occasionally assist them; it's implied that some even know they're siblings rather than cousins. Averted with Kim the cook, however, who secretly photographs some of their encounters and attempts to blackmail them.
- Sexual Extortion: Ada claims to Van that her affair with Percy de Prey was conducted under threat of his revealing their own relationship. She might have resisted anyway if they were merely cousins as the public believes, but the idea of their parents finding out made her acquiesce.
- Something Else Also Rises: At one point an erection is implied by the passage of a clockhand from 9 to 12.
- Spoiled Brat: Van, very frequently.
- Shout-Out: The nonfiction work The Ambidextrous Universe by Martin Gardner quoted John Shade; Nabokov returned the favor by having Van mention John Shade being quoted by the "invented philosopher" Gardiner [sic] in that book.
- Steampunk: Very minor case, but blimps are more prominent, there are clockwork horseless carriages, and telecommunication is done through "hydrophones" (later corrupted to "dorophones").
- Suicide Pact: Van and Ada at the end of the book. Probably (it's kind of ambiguous).
- Tangled Family Tree: Walter D. Veen marries Aqua Durmanov, his second cousin, while his cousin, also named Walter D. Veen, marries Aqua's twin sister, Marina. A chart is included with the book.
- Teen Genius: Ada and Van are both very precocious; the latter gets a master's degree at 19.
- Three-Way Sex: Ada coerces Lucette into bed with her and Van at one point. It's not a very ideal situation: Lucette is reluctant, the only contact between her and Van is facilitated by Ada, there's an implication Ada is emphasizing that Van belongs to her alone, and Lucette is more anguished and lovesick than ever afterward.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Van's final opinion of Lucette.
Van: “In other more deeply moral worlds than this pellet of muck, there might exist restraints, principles, transcendental consolations, and even a certain pride in making happy someone one does not really love; but on this planet Lucettes are doomed.”
- The Unfavorite: Lucette to Van.
- Unusual Euphemism: The book is filled with them. Much of the "gory details" (and the plot is considerably gory) are wrapped in poetic language, subtle symbolism, obscure references, etc.
- Visual Innuendo: After a four-year separation Van and Ada's first time occurs by a bathtub. She seeks the nozzles for support and accidentally turns them, causing full-force blasts of water at the same time Van... you know.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Van and Ada find each other annoying at first. Van's feelings start to change when he slips while climbing a tree, and his face lands on Ada's crotch.
