Blog Post #5: Contradictions in Terms: the Many Meanings of Nova

The title of Samuel R. Delany’s novel Nova does a lot of work in terms of the book as a whole. This is partly due to the numerous meanings and uses of the word ‘nova.’

When plugged in to the University of Notre Dame’s LatinDictionary site, ‘nova’ is related to the following forms and meanings:

novo : to make anew, refresh, revive, change, alter, invent.
novus : new, fresh, young, inexperienced, revived, refreshed.
novus : novel, unusual, extraordinary / news, novelty, a new thing

These are extremely similar to the definitions we established in class, with ‘novel’ being “that which is new.”

The etymology of ‘nova’ in reference to stars and their behavior goes back to 1572, with Tycho Brahe’s observance of the appearance of a ‘new’ star in the constellation Cassiopeia. He wrote about his findings (including his conclusion that it couldn’t be a local phenomenon due to lack of motion) in a book entitled “de Stella Nova,” or, “Concerning the New Star.”

However, we know now that his nova stella was actually a supernova, a star which collapsed with so much force that the resulting spike in luminosity caused it to outshine the rest of its galaxy: it was so bright that its light made it to Earth when none of the light from the rest of its galaxy could do so. The new star wasn’t new – it had died, probably hundreds of thousands of years before, and violently. As it turns out, the stellar remnant of SN 1572 can still be ‘seen,’ with the help of x-ray imaging through the combined technologies of NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope.

Based on all this, there is inherently a contradiction, because ‘nova’ is a misnomer. There’s nothing ‘new’ about a star ex/imploding.

However, in terms of the novel, the word ‘nova’ has a dual role and can retain both its meanings. The first is more straightforward. Lorq Von Ray and his crew literally seek a nova, an exploding star, so that they can perform the insane stunt of flying through it to obtain Illyrion.

The second usage is abstract. When taken as its Latin form, “to make anew, refresh, revive, change, alter, invent,” and with the related definitions of “fresh, young, inexperienced,” the word ‘nova’ reflects the two principle characters: Lorq and Mouse.

Mouse, based on the dates given in the headers, is eighteen at the time of the voyage with Lorq, and the language of the novel reflects this youth not only through Mouse’s (perhaps willful) ignorance in his discussion with Katin, but even more so by referring to him as “the boy by [Lorq’s] knee” (134, emphasis added). While ‘inexperienced’ would certainly be a stretch in terms of cyborg studding, wandering, and playing music, “fresh, young, inexperienced” are all words which seem appropriately applied to Mouse, especially when taking his political obliviousness into account.

In contrast, Lorq is reflected not through his personality, but through the promise of his transformation asserted multiple times throughout the novel. In the initial Tarot reading, Tyÿ predicts Lorq’s future:

The only positive influence from the major Arcana the Devil is. A card of violence, of revolution, of struggle it is. But also the birth of spiritual understanding it signifies. […] You the spiritual understanding of which I spoke will receive. In the…coming struggle, the surface of things away will fall. (118-121)

And again, with Lorq’s aunt, Cyana Von Ray Morgan:

“The Hanged-Man.” She closed the deck. “Reversed. Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“Doesn’t the Hanged-Man imply a great spiritual wisdom is coming, Cyana?”
“Reversed,” she reminded him. “It will be achieved at a great price.” (160)

These promises of spiritual understanding tie directly in to ‘nova’ as “to make anew, refresh, revive, change, alter, invent.” Lorq will be reinvented by the experiences he has on this voyage; he will be new.

Questions

1. Is there a similar connection to the several and contradictory meanings of the word ‘nova’ with the Red family? How does it interact with the meanings for Lorq and Mouse?

2. What is the significance of a system of mysticism being so well established and respected by a community of the future? Or can it really be explained with psychology and the power of suggestion, as Katin seeks to do?

Bonus Round: While reading this, did anyone else think of space westerns and Joss Whedon's Firefly? I sure did.