Initial Thoughts (Chapters 1-14)
(I would first like to say that yes, I am aware this section is not exactly a fourth of the book. That said, there is already so much to talk about and analyze, and I felt as though my blog entry would become swamped if I continued much farther. I look forward to discussing this novel with the others in the class that are reading it!)
Pedophilia is a topic that makes most people very squeamish, as it should. There is something about the idea of an adult taking sexual advantage of a minor that leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth and their eyesight shrouded by red. So, the inexplicable popularity and renown granted to Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is truly fascinating, from a sociological perspective. I think that the taboo nature of its primary subject, that of a twisted "romance" between Humbert Humbert, a man who is almost 40, and Dolores "Lolita" Haze, a 12-year-old girl, is part of what interests people so much about the novel. Despite my heavy distaste for pedophilia (unpopular opinion, I know, don't burn me at the stake for not liking pedophiles*), I was very interested in reading Lolita and jumped at the opportunity to begin it.
First of all, I love the juxtaposition of the chapter lengths. It keeps each section focused on one aspect of Humbert's account, even if it can be jarring to read a chapter that consists of only a few sentences. The first few chapters were especially interesting, typing Lolita's name to different parts of her life and then back to Humbert's first love, Annabel Leigh.
"Annabel Leigh" -- it felt familiar as soon as I heard her full name. So, I looked into my book of Poe's poetry, and sure enough: "Annabel Lee" was in there. The poem in question was published posthumously, and explored the death of a young woman with whom the speaker was in love. I also realized that the "winged seraphs" (pg. 9) mentioned in the very first chapter were another reference to the poem in question. I'm not sure how big of a deal that is, but I was excited that I recognized an allusion, so I put this in anyway.
As the novel continues, we see that the note in the foreword about Humbert's persuasiveness comes to fruition. Despite him being objectively kind of a scumbag, he tries his best to drum up sympathy. By talking about how he married Valeria in hopes of curbing his desire for relationships with young girls, and that said relationship ended after she cheated on him, the narrator appeals to a sense of empathy. "Sure, liking little kids is wrong, but she cheated on me and I stayed loyal, so she's worse than me, at least" -- this tactic of projecting the "worse" label onto his ex-wife contributes to the reader's sense of Humbert's tactful manipulation.
Lastly, the discussion of "nymphets" and Lolita especially in these first chapters was incredibly difficult to read. The fact that Humbert views a certain type of little girl as essentially a seductive creature for him to tame -- even going so far as to refer to Lolita as "pet" now and again -- leaves such a sinking feeling in my stomach. The scene with the apple, where he essentially climaxed "secretly" next to her, is especially potently gross. He says to the reader that he doesn't want to taint her innocence or defile her while doing those very things in the same breath.
In essence, this book is incredibly beautifully written, but difficult to read. I find myself having to take breaks from Humbert's twisted point of view just to avoid feeling gross myself.
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* Sarcasm, in case there was any confusion.
Pedophilia is a topic that makes most people very squeamish, as it should. There is something about the idea of an adult taking sexual advantage of a minor that leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth and their eyesight shrouded by red. So, the inexplicable popularity and renown granted to Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is truly fascinating, from a sociological perspective. I think that the taboo nature of its primary subject, that of a twisted "romance" between Humbert Humbert, a man who is almost 40, and Dolores "Lolita" Haze, a 12-year-old girl, is part of what interests people so much about the novel. Despite my heavy distaste for pedophilia (unpopular opinion, I know, don't burn me at the stake for not liking pedophiles*), I was very interested in reading Lolita and jumped at the opportunity to begin it.
First of all, I love the juxtaposition of the chapter lengths. It keeps each section focused on one aspect of Humbert's account, even if it can be jarring to read a chapter that consists of only a few sentences. The first few chapters were especially interesting, typing Lolita's name to different parts of her life and then back to Humbert's first love, Annabel Leigh.
"Annabel Leigh" -- it felt familiar as soon as I heard her full name. So, I looked into my book of Poe's poetry, and sure enough: "Annabel Lee" was in there. The poem in question was published posthumously, and explored the death of a young woman with whom the speaker was in love. I also realized that the "winged seraphs" (pg. 9) mentioned in the very first chapter were another reference to the poem in question. I'm not sure how big of a deal that is, but I was excited that I recognized an allusion, so I put this in anyway.
As the novel continues, we see that the note in the foreword about Humbert's persuasiveness comes to fruition. Despite him being objectively kind of a scumbag, he tries his best to drum up sympathy. By talking about how he married Valeria in hopes of curbing his desire for relationships with young girls, and that said relationship ended after she cheated on him, the narrator appeals to a sense of empathy. "Sure, liking little kids is wrong, but she cheated on me and I stayed loyal, so she's worse than me, at least" -- this tactic of projecting the "worse" label onto his ex-wife contributes to the reader's sense of Humbert's tactful manipulation.
Lastly, the discussion of "nymphets" and Lolita especially in these first chapters was incredibly difficult to read. The fact that Humbert views a certain type of little girl as essentially a seductive creature for him to tame -- even going so far as to refer to Lolita as "pet" now and again -- leaves such a sinking feeling in my stomach. The scene with the apple, where he essentially climaxed "secretly" next to her, is especially potently gross. He says to the reader that he doesn't want to taint her innocence or defile her while doing those very things in the same breath.
In essence, this book is incredibly beautifully written, but difficult to read. I find myself having to take breaks from Humbert's twisted point of view just to avoid feeling gross myself.
----
* Sarcasm, in case there was any confusion.
I think your reaction, and your need to take breaks, is a valid one, and one I remember having myself, as it's hard at times not to get sucked into Humbert's accounts of things.
ReplyDeleteNice job recognizing the allusion; why do you think Nabokov included it?
I think there are a lot of connections between Poe's life and this novel -- him notoriously falling into a relationship with a young cousin of his is especially obvious, especially once you realize that Humbert refers to Lolita as his daughter after his marriage to Charlotte and her subsequent death. There's also a poetic quality to Nabakov's prose that really does remind me of some of Poe's pieces as well -- I'd love to explore that more in-depth during my style post!
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