Line #31 Literature/AdaOrArdor


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/15861254777_735c5dd216_o.jpg]]
2	''Ada, or Ardor: a Family Chronicle'' is a 1969 novel by Creator/VladimirNabokov, taking the form of the long[[note]]Nabokov's longest novel, in fact[[/note]] 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.
3	----
4	!! ''Ada'' contains examples of:
5	* ArcWords:
6	** Variations of "Ardors in arbors", "Ada's ardors in arbors", "Ardis' ardors in arbors", and so on.
7	** Destroy and forget.
8	* AloofDarkhairedGirl: Ada
9	* AlternateHistory: [[TruthInTelevision 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.
10	* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Lucette to Van and Ada.
11	* AristocratsAreEvil: 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.
12	* BandOfBrothels: Villa Venus, a chain of exclusive brothels with a select aristocratic clientele.
13	* BerserkButton: 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.
14	* BigFancyHouse: Ardis, which subtly parodies the manors that are a stock feature of much nineteenth and eighteenth century literature.
15	* BileFascination: 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.
16	* BrickJoke: 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 "[[OneDialogueTwoConversations only]] [[BiggerIsBetterInBed 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 "[[GagPenis Seven and a half.]]"
17	* BrotherSisterIncest: The meat of the plot.
18	* BungledSuicide:
19	** Van tries to shoot himself after his father warns him to stop his romance with Ada. However, the gun fails to fire.
20	** [[spoiler: 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).
21	%%* ByronicHero: Van Veen
22	* ChivalrousPervert: 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.
23	** 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.
24	* DidNotThinkThisThrough: 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.
25	-->'''Ada:''' "I have to admit... that [[{{Understatement}} the splendid plan is a foozle.]]"
26	* DirectLineToTheAuthor: The book purports to be the dictated memoirs of Ivan Veen (the main character), with assistance from Ada. There's also an appendix by [[SignificantAnagram "Vivian Darkbloom"]].
27	%%* DrivenToSuicide:
28	%%** Lucette
29	%%** Van's mother, Aqua
30	* EveryoneHasLotsOfSex: 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.
31	* FrenchMaid: Blanche, as well as the appropriately-named French.
32	* GratuitousForeignLanguage: There's quite a bit of [[GratuitousRussian Russian]] and [[GratuitousFrench 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.
33	* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn: Van to Lucette, with tragic results.
34	* IHaveThisFriend: 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".
35	* InSpiteOfANail: 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.
36	* InterruptedIntimacy: 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.
37	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: To a degree. Van is quite a {{Jerkass}} to most people, elitist, condescending, lecherous, etc., but he loves his sisters and father.
38	* KinkySpanking: Ada suggests Van that he should spank Lucette when she is being particularly annoying. Lucette is very disappointed when Van refuses to.
39	* KissingCousins: In theory.
40	* LawOfInverseFertility: 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.
41	* LecherousLicking: 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. [[ObliviousToHints He doesn't get it and walks away.]]
42	* TheLostLenore: Ada and Van come to see [[spoiler: 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.
43	* MyGirlIsNotASlut: 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 [[BlatantLies blatantly lied]] about them.
44	* NakedOnArrival: Ada and Van are both naked in their first appearance in the book, exploring the attic of Ardis Hall together.
45	* NerdsAreSexy: Ada as a young girl is obsessed with entomology and botany, and virtually every man in her vicinity wants to bed her.
46	* NeverMyFault: 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.
47	* NiceToTheWaiter: Averted, especially with Van who treats the hired help as subhuman.
48	* PervertParent: Lucette offhandedly mentions that Dan Deen could get handsy with her at times.
49	* OneSteveLimit: Two characters are named "Walter D. Veen", so they're distinguished by their middle names.
50	* OpenSecret: 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.
51	* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: 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.
52	* ParentalIncest:
53	** Mention is made of a man who impregnates his 5-year-old granddaughter ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_sex while asleep]], supposedly). Five years later, he impregnates the resulting girl, again supposedly while asleep.
54	** Lucette implies that Dan Deen would try to molest her, though she managed to warn him off.
55	* {{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 "[[CountryMatters golden cunt]]").
56	* RedheadInGreen: Lucette seldom wears any other color.
57	* RefugeInAudacity: 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. [[ObliviousToHints It flies over Marina's head.]]
58	* ReplacementGoldfish:
59	** During Van and Ada's second separation, Ada makes ''Lucette'' her primary sexual partner.
60	** Van became one for Aqua after she miscarried.
61	* RevengePornBlackmail: 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.
62	* RussiaIsWestern: 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.
63	* SecretKeeper: 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.
64	* SexualExtortion: 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.
65	* SomethingElseAlsoRises: At one point an erection is implied by the passage of a clockhand from 9 to 12.
66	* SpoiledBrat: Van, very frequently.
67	* ShoutOut: The nonfiction work ''The Ambidextrous Universe'' by Martin Gardner quoted [[Literature/PaleFire John Shade]]; Nabokov returned the favor by having Van mention John Shade being quoted by the "invented philosopher" Gardiner [sic] in that book.
68	* {{Steampunk}}: Very minor case, but blimps are more prominent, there are clockwork horseless carriages, and telecommunication is done through "hydrophones" (later corrupted to "dorophones").
69	* SuicidePact: [[spoiler:Van and Ada]] at the end of the book. Probably (it's kind of ambiguous).
70	* TangledFamilyTree: 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.
71	* TeenGenius: Ada and Van are both very precocious; the latter gets a master's degree at 19.
72	* ThreeWaySex: 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.
73	* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Van's final opinion of [[spoiler: Lucette]].
74	-->'''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 [[spoiler: Lucettes]] are doomed.”
75	* TheUnfavorite: Lucette to Van.
76	* UnusualEuphemism: 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.
77	* VisualInnuendo: 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... [[TheImmodestOrgasm you know.]]
78	* WellExcuseMePrincess: 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.

Context Literature / AdaOrArdor