A Fairy Tale of the Two
“But that mimosa grove-the haze of stars, the tingle, the flame, the honeydew, and the ache remained with me, and that little girl with her seaside limbs and ardent tongue haunted me ever since–“
-Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita P.15
There were two particular pieces that I would love to share; after much thought, however, I decided against writing about Jonathan Swift’s serious yet humorous satire, A Modest Proposal, and instead write about a novel that I loved (don’t be disgusted) since I first read it in the summer of 2010 – Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Anyone who knew only the pretext of the book without reading it would most definitely look towards the one praising or even reading the work with eyes widened with appall. It is a romantic yet tragic tale of a middle-aged pedophile that had gone through much despair after the loss of his beloved Annabel Lee when he was twelve, and of the trials he faces while trying to escape the authorities and his newfound love’s (Dolores Haze, nicknamed Lolita) secret lover, Clare Quilty.
The reason that I am enchanted by this novel is not because of its ingenious plot, but rather of Nabokov’s exquisite use of language. Take the quote above, Nabokov or rather, the narrator Humbert Humbert takes the idea of pedophilia out of the readers’ minds with that one sentence of reminiscence and beauty in the beginning of the novel. Humbert presents himself to the readers as a boy who is traumatized and in agony. Not only that, he invites the readers into his fantasy, a world where his beloved nymph remains eternal within the “mimosa grove-the haze of stars, the tingle, the flame, [and] the honeydew.” How can anyone despise someone who is so fragile and delicate, dreaming only to meet the girl of his dreams once more? Not many. This is why I love Lolita, and it is also how Nabokov masterfully captivated even the sanest people into this gruesome tragedy of the two – Humbert and Lolita.
3 responses so far
I first read the excerpt and I had no idea what it meant. After you provided the context, it made much more sense. I never would have thought that the narrator was describing a perverted attraction. Language has the power to convey the emotions and thoughts of the reader. Vladimir Nabokov certainly is successful in this aspect of his writing. His use of words creates a sort of unease in the reader’s mind, who is trying to reconcile the beautiful language with the unthinkable. The clash of the lovely description and the horrid experience being described parallels the confusion that the central character undergoes as he battles with his own feelings.
Nabokov is legendary for his spinning of language in Lolita. I remember when I read this book last year for my AP Lit class, I often got lost either in the melodious, beautifully descriptive nature of his words, or just the sheer expanse of his vocabulary. With such a touchy subject to deal with in his novel, it is even more important that Nabokov utilize language to pacify his readers. Knowing now the outcome of the book and all of its gruesome details, it’s easier to look around the language. Nabokov uses it almost as a shield, or a veil. It hides the truth and protects the reader from something Nabokov doesn’t think they’re ready for.
While it is true that Nabokov doesn’t want to scare/revolt readers with the topic at hand, I think Nabokov was more trying to see how much he could do with the power of language – to see whether something vile and transform it into beauty or not through the use of his language. If I remembered correctly, he mentioned during one of his press conferences that that was one of his intentions.