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Essay / Psychological Study of the Case of Lolita
Nabokov's Lolita is a unique book in the sense that its narrator, under the "pseudonym" of Humbert Humbert, often breaks the fourth wall to retroactively embellish his story. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he addresses the reader several times, as he would if he were on trial. Nabokov does this in order to play with the reader's sense of what is real and what is not. Humbert literally comes to life through his apparent total unworthiness. Nabokov's choice to include the forward in Lolita is his way of preparing the reader for Humbert's unreliable narration. The fictional John Ray Jr. informs us that we are reading the memoirs of an unstable man and tells us bluntly that "Lolita will, without doubt, become a classic in psychiatric circles." In fact, he tells us to view the book as a case study, a look into the mind of the pseudonymous Humbert Humbert, and that is how Nabokov wants to read it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Humbert's unreliable narration is effective in demonstrating to us, as readers, precisely how his mind works. As the book is written more as a psychological study than a narrative, it is important that we view the events of the story through the eyes of the criminal, so that we can gain insight into his thought processes, such as his creation of the term “nymphet”. . Humbert's theory that there is actually a certain particularly tempting variety of young girls is a good example of the victim-blaming mentality common to perpetrators of violent crimes like rape, essentially what he does to Lolita. About his first sexual relationship with her, he insists: "I'm going to tell you a very strange thing: it was she who seduced me." Lolita, obviously, could not understand the importance of her actions, and Humbert did not recognize the responsibility he had. In another example, in the opening scenes of the book, Humbert dwells on his encounters with a girl he once knew named Anabel. He cites it as an explanation, even an excuse, for his behavior. Their relationship may or may not have major psychological significance for him, but he self-analyzes it as such and finds it comparable to the one he has with Lolita. He also gives frequent and serious descriptions of being enchanted or bewitched, or of not being in control of one's actions. His creation of the word “nymphet” reflects this. The nymphs of legend were temptresses, creatures of the forest who seduced innocent men. Humbert presents himself as the victim of his story, powerless in the face of his supposed love for Dolores Haze. This idea that he is the real victim also helps Humbert feel justified in killing Claire Quilty. Quilty also notices and attracts Lolita's attention, and as she did with Humbert initially, she seeks Quilty's affection and approval in her own skewed way, letting him exploit her childish and cute side. However, while Humbert spends years obsessed with Lolita, Quilty does not consider his sexual encounters with her very important. He said to Humbert: “I made a mistake. Which I sincerely regret. You see, I didn't have fun with your Dolly. Quilty's casualness toward Lolita serves to highlight Humbert's passion and obsession. He is even angry at Quilty for his objectification and contempt for the girl. Once again, Humbert does not consider that by raping Lolita, he is really taking advantage of her. He considers himself the naive prey of a seductive demon. Later in life, when Lolita married Dick Schiller, Humbert took a jealous dislike to him and.