Lolita
(Vladmir Nabokov)

Language

Language is supremely powerful in “Lolita” because it is the way Humbert displays his emotions and tells his story. By using poetic language to tell his story, he tries to make it seem less scandalous because of the level of his education.

He is constantly talking about words and his ability to use them better than others, and essentially his superior grasp of the English language. He finds a way to make the horrific subject matter of the novel endearing and enchanting because of the way he tells the story, making the reader listen to his words but not his story.

Morality

Humbert seems to be aware that there is a moral and ethical issue with his actions, but it seems that he is only accepting that his actions are unethical because he knows that in society they are, but he does not truly seem to think he has done anything wrong.

He states that Lolita seduced him, that, in some cultures, their relationship would be perfectly acceptable, and that he still had psychological issues from his loss of Annabel. He calls himself a monster because he knows that is how is viewed, but it is uncertain if, and unlikely that, he finds anything wrong with his actions.

Lust

Lust is certainly a cornerstone of this novel because it is where the problems begin. Humbert first lusted after Annabel, his first love, until she abruptly died of illness and he never got over that lust. Humbert continued to be attracted to girls who were the same age as Annabel as he got older, though they all stayed the same age.

Humbert’s lust for Lolita, possibly mistaken for love, kept him obsessing over her even after she refused him. Lolita new that Humbert’s unyielding lust for her was a powerful hand to play, and she held it close, using the lust to get her own way.

Love

Love, in the context of this novel, seems to be a mutually inclusive concept with lust. They appear to be one in the same because Humbert insists that he is in love with Lolita, though it seems as though he is simply lusting, and rather infatuated with her, most likely due to psychological reasons.

Humbert also believes that Lolita loves him, though she obviously is just playing him to get whatever she wants. The love/lust limbo that Humbert is in causes him to trek Lolita across the country more than once, search for her for two years, and murder someone in a jealous rage.

Jealousy

Jealousy is an emotion that Humbert is acutely familiar with. Throughout his relationship with Lolita, he becomes increasingly paranoid that she is going to leave him for someone else, or that she is being unfaithful to him. Whenever he feels he is losing her, he takes her on a trip where it is just the two of them so she is not distracted by anyone else.

Humbert does not want Lolita to be around guys her own age, fearing she will want to be with one of them, and even accuses her of being in cahoots with their “stalker”. When Humbert kills Quilty, he is partially doing it out of jealousy and partially because he tried to make Lolita participate in child pornography, which is ironic because he, himself, is a pedophile.

Pedophilia

One of the reasons that this novel has been so controversial and taboo is because of its blatant reference to, and dedication to, pedophilia. Humbert not only has an illegal relationship with the preteen Lolita, but through his use of words makes the relationship seem beautiful and magical.

A man like Humbert should be locked away for his pedophilic urges, though ironically it is not his pedophilia that puts him in jail but murder he committed in a jealous rage. Though the ethical dilemma of Humbert and Lolita’s relationship is clearly stated, it is somewhat romanticized in this novel and, in a way, condoned, as the narrator is the pedophile.

Innocence

Innocence, or in this case, lack of innocence, is central to “Lolita”. Lolita’s character should be the innocent, as she is a young girl who has yet to experience the world, but Humbert portrays her as a nymph who seduces him, clearly far too experienced for her young years.

Humbert states that he is a monster, but it is unlikely that he believes his own words because clearly he feels the victim in his situation. He feels he is not innocent, but the other people involved are even less innocent than he. Humbert’s innocence, if he ever had any, was taken from him as a boy and he spends his life searching for that innocence in the form of extremely young girls like Lolita.

Justice

While the novel appears to tell a love story with beautiful words, it is, in fact, a confession written by a man awaiting trial for murder. Lolita gets her justice with Humbert by using him and throwing him away, Humbert gets his justice on Quilty by killing him, and the system gets its justice on Humbert by putting him on trial for a murder that he obviously committed.

Justice is seen in many forms though the novel romanticizes all of Humbert’s loathsome actions to make himself seem less deplorable. Humbert looks to the readers to determine his guilt, and whether or not justice has been, or should be, served.

The Difference Between American and European Cultures

Humbert makes no secret of the superiority he feels over Americans and their silly cultural ideals. Charlotte is attracted to him more for the sophistication she sees in his background and the assumptions she has about European culture.

Humbert thinks that Americans are superficial and simple-minded with no reverence for art or culture, and he tries to sophisticate Lolita though she grows bored of his intellectualism. Humbert learns that, while he does deem himself superior, he enjoys the freedoms of America and he falls for Lolita despite the fact that she is everything he hates about American culture.

Psychology

Humbert has an extensive distaste for psychology and feels it holds no merit. He shares his exceptional disdain for Freud, though Humbert’s pedophilic relationship with Lolita could be explained or interpreted according to Freudian ideals. He got some mental help after the death of Annabel, though that did not seem to help him and becomes even more of a skeptic.

Humbert, as Nabokov, views psychology as overly simplistic in its explanations. Humbert is interested in listening to psychologists but does not deem them as superior minds. John Ray presses the reader to see Humbert as damaged, but not insane, which could be Nabokov’s way of mocking the psychological world.