Of the many themes present in Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita one that is often overlooked is the theme of Lolita being a lesbian. Humbert Humbert’s way of justifying his raping of Lolita is because she has experimented with girls in the past and is therefor not a ‘pure’ child because of her attempts at discovering her own sexuality. Because Humbert exhibited interest in Lolita at the same time in her life where she was coming into her sexuality and attempting to figure herself out as a coming of age young girl she accepted his advances as normal because she was unaware that these experiences were not normal. This is further exemplified by the fact that Humbert attempts to cut Lolita off from interacting with people who are not him so that she will continue to be under the assumption that these inappropriate interactions with an adult are normal for young girls her age. As the novel continues to develop however Lolita’s rebellious nature attitude toward authority, especially Humbert’s, only escalates to the point that she begins to get in trouble at school which forces Humbert to allow her to interact with her classmates outside of regular class hours. Lolita coincidentally uses this time to explore her sexuality beyond Humbert by skipping rehearsals for the play she is in and hanging out with other kids her age. Had Humbert never entered into Lolita’s life her sexually promiscuous nature probably would have still been there it would have simply been expressed through experimentation with other kids her age.
In what other ways was Humbert controlling Lolita?
IF this was told from Lolita's perspective do you think Humbert would become the aggressor or the victim?
I think that Humbert is controlling her physically and mentally. She seems to have her own ideas, and opinions, but somehow she keeps coming back to him. Humbert controls her in the way he keeps secrets from her, like the news of her mothers death. But She also has control over him. He does whatever she says because he becomes surprised when she does ask him of sexual favors.
ReplyDeleteI think Humbert would become the victim (in a way) if it were from Lolita’s perspective. Her personality can be abrasive and childish. She controls him emotionally and she knows he will do things for her if she asks. An example would be when she tells him to carry her up the stairs.
I think that Humbert is controlling her physically and mentally. She seems to have her own ideas, and opinions, but somehow she keeps coming back to him. Humbert controls her in the way he keeps secrets from her, like the news of her mothers death. But She also has control over him. He does whatever she says because he becomes surprised when she does ask him of sexual favors.
ReplyDeleteI think Humbert would become the victim (in a way) if it were from Lolita’s perspective. Her personality can be abrasive and childish. She controls him emotionally and she knows he will do things for her if she asks. An example would be when she tells him to carry her up the stairs.