TMoP

[Bekah]

Matryona - Matryosha is the diminutive for Matryona.

The matryoshka or nesting doll is the famous souvenir which is  
popular with everyone.

The name "matryoshka" comes from the Russian word for mother mat  
(taken from the Latin root mater - mother). Names such as Matryona  
and Matryosha were common female names in Provincial Russia prior to  
the Revolution of 1917. The suffix ...oshka (or ... ushka) is  
frequently used in Russian to denote a diminutive and endearing form  
of a name. A liberal interpretation of the term matryoshka could be  
taken to mean "little mother."
http://www.russianamericancompany.com/info/matryoshka.htm

The link between Stavrotgin (Demons) and Coetzee's Dostoevsky comes a  
few chapters later - Chapters 4, - 6 and 7,  11, 13 -  some other  
places.

Bekah


On Sep 30, 2008, at 7:16 AM, Glenn Scheper wrote:

>> But no one has mentioned the one word paragraph on page 5.
>> Matryona.
>
> I imagine D clicking his heels, bowing slightly,
> and speaking her name, preparatory to departure.
>
>