Everyone has heard of Lolita. We may not know the exact plot line, but we've basically “got the idea”, right? Perhaps not. Many readers expect a simple, sickening story of a pedophile and his morally damning corruption of a young child. What readers are delivered is a work of art. Lolita could easily be likened to an exhibit at an art gallery. Everyone expects near-pornographic images of young children, but they are delivered an intricate marble sculpture of naked children playing innocently in a field of wildflowers. There are questions – why must they be naked, why depict this with such detail? - but really, most will see that this is art, and it is beautiful. Make no mistake, the sexual corruption of young girls is a moral blunder of epic proportions in most societies, and the time period in which the book was written and staged is no exception. Nabokov masterfully harmonizes taboo love – a favorite in popular novels – with witty observations by the narrator and sly references to the audience. Mixed in are some truly deep emotions – guilt, passion, fear, distress, ecstasy, naivety, remorse, lust, and true love. I fear that too many readers simply pass over all that this story has to offer and judge it merely as a flat, sick fantasy of an aging man. Most critics share this view, and though it is nothing revolutionary, it is a worthwhile point to pursue, as the critics have failed so far to convince most outside of the literary academia community that Nabokov's Lolita is not only a work of art, but of genius.
The first part of the novel mainly chronicles Humbert's adventures before Lolita. His first love, Annabel Leigh (reference from E.A. Poe's Annabel Lee) sets the standard that must be reached by all women that Humbert will love. He describes his fascination with nymphets, slim girls with demonic qualities. The narrator frequently hires prostitutes and marries twice. It is through this second marriage that he meets Lolita, his stepdaughter. Lolita is twelve years old when her mother dies, and she is left in the care of one Humbert Humbert. Initially, the orphan is kept in the dark about her mother's death, being told that her mother is in the hospital. Humbert takes his stepdaughter to a hotel, where it is reported that she seduces him, and they copulate their relationship. Humbert writes that he fought with the decision to seduce her, that he thought of stopping short of sex. When Humbert claims that Lolita initiated the act, the reader begins to question the truthfulness and non-bias of the narrator. Though Lolita is obviously trying to advance their relationship, she becomes cold and sullen adolescent after their first encounter. What is most evident, however is that Humbert has passed the point of no return.
Humbert takes Lolita on a trip around the country, trying to keep their relationship a secret from all they interact with. They stay in many hotels on their trip, and Lolita slowly loses her naivety. She attracts men with glances and flirts openly. Humbert becomes paranoid that someone is following them, and he begins carrying a gun in his pocket. Lolita enrolls in school after the two settle down in a small town. She has lost all innocence, demanding money before performing sexual activity. Humbert finds himself falling for her, as she is losing her interest in him. Humbert's paranoia grows exponentially as he fears that everyone knows about their relationship.
Lolita obtains the lead in a school play, the script for which was written by a man that she, it is much later revealed, has fallen in love with. This man, Cue, will later be described by Lolita to Humbert as her one great love. Humbert has no knowledge of Cue, but eventually becomes paranoid enough to leave with Lolita for another trip across America. Though barely a teenager at this point, Lolita is a deceiver, and is cold and calculating. The reader begins to see that perhaps Humbert was right in being so paranoid. Lolita claims to be sick one night. Humbert takes her to the hospital, where she escapes his clutches two days later. In a frantic rage, Humbert tears out of the hospital, vowing to kill her abductor. After retracing his steps, looking for any clues as to Lolita's disappearance, Humbert begins to feel great loneliness. He forms a relationship with Rita, who is dull and stupid, but comforting to Humbert. While dating Rita, he continues to search for Lolita, leading Rita to leave him. Time passes and Lolita writes to Humbert, stating that she is married and pregnant, and needs his financial support, as he is her father. In short, Humbert finds Lolita, meets her husband – not her captor – and gives her the money. He then kills the abductor, Cue. Humbert realizes that even though Lolita has aged greatly (she is seventeen now), and is heavily pregnant with another's child, he still is in love with her. He asks her to leave with him, but she refuses. He leaves in tears.
The purpose of this short, simple synopsis was not to convey the complex emotion of the story, but to provide the basic plot, so that a reader may see that this is more than a pedophilic pornographic novel. Any reader would think that this novel was captivating and provocative. The truth is that many people have their sensors for low morality set on a high-sensitivity mode, and once they see that this is a man with an eye and lust for young girls, they are blinded to the rest of the story. If they are not blinded, then their perception is severely skewed. Lolita deserves a second look, however, as the language will draw you in, and the perils the narrator and his lover must go through will keep you reading. Nabokov's characters are quite multifaceted, and have real, human emotions. Perhaps Nabokov's greatest feat however, was making the reader feel sympathy for the narrator. Humbert is truly remorseful, and knows that no legal punishment could ever be sufficient for the pain he has caused Lolita, who lost her childhood because of his actions. He decides that he has earned 35 years in prison, as he does not agree with capital punishment. He feels that the one thing he has done right for Lolita is immortalized her true ethereal beauty in his journal, which he requests not be published until both he and Lolita are dead. They both die shortly thereafter, Humbert, while in jail awaiting his trial, and Lolita, as giving birth. If there were ever a truly twisted character that you could almost feel pity for, it would have to be Humbert Humbert, the man who realized the error of his ways too late.
