Lolita and wanting what we can’t have.
Most people have heard of the infamous ‘Lolita,’ Vladimir Nabokov’s book that is considered a literary masterpiece by some and an abomination by others. Over time, critics have pegged Lolita as the former, but when it was first released in 1962, it scandalised the world. Banned in France, England and New Zealand, some speculate that it was this censorship that led to its instant traction. But what is it that drew people in? What is this sick, scandalous, eye-opening phenomenon that would bring to light issues that shocked the world?
Lolita follows a middle-aged professor of Literature, Humbert Humbert, and his growing obsession with twelve-year-old Dolores Haze. Humbert begins with a background of his childhood in the French Riviera and tells us about his first love- Annabel Leigh. Before they had a chance to consummate their relationship, she died of typhus and ever since then, Humbert idolised what he called ‘nymphets.’ These were pre-pubescent girls who he considered desirable- they tended to be between the ages of 9 and 14. The topic of pedophilia was very taboo at the time, and so the initial shock value was undoubtedly a factor that played in its almost instant popularity.
The plot is as follows:
Humbert moved to America after a divorce. There, he rented a room in the house of Charlotte Haze. Almost immediately, he becomes obsessed with her daughter, Dolores. Dolores bore a striking resemblance to Humbert’s first love- Annabel- so the initial attraction can be attributed to this similarity. However, it could not account for Humbert obsession with Dolores, who he called ‘Lolita,’ which grew and grew. He decided to marry Charlotte to be closer to Lolita and even toys with the idea of killing his wife and running away with her child. Although Humbert never goes through with it, Charlotte soon finds out about his ‘love’ for Lolita when she finds his diary, which details his feelings for her daughter.
She rushed out, presumably to take her daughter (who was at a camp at that point) and get far away from Humbert. However, she gets into a car accident and dies. After this, Humbert proceeds to pick Lolita up from camp and essentially kidnaps her. After a year on the road, they settle down, and Dolores goes to school while Humbert acts as her father. However, Humbert gets more and more possessive and jealous until they go on the road again, this time followed by a strange man. Finally, Dolores goes to a hospital and is taken away by the man following them. Humbert searches for her for years, and when he finally finds her, it is too late. He proceeds to shoot the man who took her, which lands him in prison, where he wrote the memoir that we are reading. It’s almost laughable that this is the crime that got him caught by the authorities, of all things.
I was particularly struck at how the book manipulates you into justifying Humbert’s terrible actions. Of course, he is a very unreliable narrator, but nevertheless, he draws you in and casts a spell over you. I had to pull myself away frequently and remind myself of the severity of his actions.
I think the movie (the 1997 version) especially romanticises the relationship- it places a lot of importance on aesthetics as well as making the film easier to digest than the book. For example, it changed Lolita’s age from 12 to 14 and downplayed a lot of the scenes depicting her assault. However, the movie and book were from Humbert’s perspective after all, and it’s much harder to portray unreliable narration through a film medium than through writing.
Another factor which I think plays into the romanticisation of Lolita, is people’s wish to be desired as Lolita is- not taking into account Humbert’s tendencies. It’s a trope I found all over the internet while researching the book- people wishing that they could be obsessed over as Lolita was, be as loved, as valued. However, it is a twisted love- an obsession. Looking at it from an objective point of view, this man kidnaps a twelve year and assaults her. It seems black and white.
Humbert, however, is the unlikely protagonist in the story and sugarcoats and justifies his actions so much that he almost seduces the reader, lulling them with his beautiful language. But one thing that appeared very clear to me after I removed myself from that haze: Lolita is not the love story so many people believe it is.
There is also a song by Lana Del Ray called ‘Lolita’ where she sings in a child-like voice over a dark orchestral theme, and I think that although it was pretty good at portraying the essence of the book, it also caused a lot of people to excuse some of Humbert’s actions.
From my personal experience, I have a friend who is a big fan of Lana and said that ever since she heard the song (when she was quite young), she definitely romanticised Lolita. It portrayed her as this desirable nymphet, this ideal who had the power to make someone obsess over her. I think that it’s open for interpretation, but I felt that it was an interesting perspective.
Another common argument that I hear is that ‘she wanted it,’ which is, frankly, infuriating. The book was from Humbert’s point of view, who not only was an unreliable narrator, but also desperately wanted to justify his actions. I think that at some points, Humbert (and therefore the readers) saw what he wanted to see and I’m sure that if we got a book from Lolita’s perspective, it would have been a much darker, much sadder tale.
In addition, those who argue for this fact forget that she was a child, who was manipulated by a father-figure, and this victim blaming is unacceptable. I am a fan of the writing of the book, though and I think that it is an important book to have been written- it shows how the minds of these assailants like Humbert Humbert work to justify their actions.
Everyone wants what they cannot have. Be it youth, a forbidden romance, dairy when you’re lactose intolerant. I think this obsession with wanting what we cannot have, desiring it above all else until it destroys us, is personified at an extreme level in Humbert Humbert. I think the author wrote this book to start a discussion on such matters- a social commentary of sorts. He just needed some shock value to get the public eye on him, so he gave Humbert, his main character, the tendencies he has. It certainly worked. Lolita will be remembered in history as a book that brought taboo topics into the limelight, analysed how predators think and justify their actions and so much more. It is more than just famous for being infamous, and it will certainly be remembered.