FREE ESSAY ON HUMBLE HUMBERT: MASTERMIND BEHIND LOLITA

HUMBLE HUMBERT: MASTERMIND BEHIND LOLITA

Humble Humbert: I Think Not.
Humbert Humbert. A delusional, sick, middle aged man obsessed with a self created love
for pre-pubescent girls he has namely dubbed nymphets. Right? Wrong, this is only the
skin-deep image we are given of the main character in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Rather,
He is a highly intelligent chess master who is constantly aware of his environment and is
able to manipulate it with minute actions bringing him the results he desires. 
Humbert's obsession for the opposite sex starts in chapters three and four when we are
introduced to his first love - Annabel. As Humbert recalls his beloved nymphets, he talks
of two kinds of visual memory pertaining to remembering a face. One that a person, with
their eyes open, must recreate, piece by piece, taking little details of vivid moments in
time and putting them all together. The other, an instant glimpse, as if a flash bulb
goes off inside your head, and instinctively, an "objective, absolutely optical replica
of a beloved face, a little ghost in natural colors" appears "on the dark innerside of
your eyelids" (Nabokov 11). I would like to expand on the latter of the two ideologies,
saying that this image, the more one thinks about it, the clarity soon fades. The
reasoning for this being emotional attachment, one's mind begins to wander about things
that occurred in the past. Perhaps why he isn't looking at the face in real life right
then, instead of picturing it in his imagination. These emotional ties to that person may
be for various reasons, but those aren't important, it is the depth of them that bears
the significance. He remembers Lolita's face in the second of the two ways because of the
extreme feelings he had built up for her throughout the time he was with her. Humbert
recalls Annabel's face with the first method simply because she was his first. Not
because of any serious feelings for her; at least compared to the magnitude of those for
Lolita.
Writing from the confines of a jail cell, Humbert Humbert tells us this story of his
sex-capade across the country with little Dolores Haze. He fills his pages with
incredible detail, often wandering on certain subjects seeming unimportant, but written
as if crucial to understanding his point. An example of this is Humbert's recollection of
the lake and its splendor, being more than just a place to swim and relax; but also an
opportunity to be alone with Lolita. The lake, to Mrs. Haze, was ironically a place to be
alone with Humbert. The reason Lolita was such a revolutionary novel is because Nabokov
has so much control over everything that is going on through Humbert's eyes. He
manipulates the story to twist the reader's opinion. By incorporating such rich detail
and full imagery through scholarly grammar and vocabulary, he somehow tries to escape
fault for his sins against an innocent girl. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the
majority of sex offenders that hanker for some throbbing, sweet-moaning, physical but not
necessarily coital, relation with a girl-child, are innocuous, inadequate, passive, timid
strangers who merely ask the community to allow them to pursue their practically
harmless, so-called aberrant behavior, their little hot wet private acts of sexual
deviation without the police and society cracking down upon them…. We are unhappy,
mild, dog-eyed gentlemen, sufficiently well integrated to control our urge in the
presence of adults, but ready to give years and years of life for one chance to touch a
nymphet" (Nabokov 87-88). I think most are able to see through this smoke screen, and
realize that although Humbert is not deranged or psychotic, his obsession for and actions
against young girls is horrifying and wrong.
As we progress through the novel, we learn just how much of a game it is for Humbert to
have Lolita. Before the death of Charlotte Haze, Humbert had something to restrain him
from Dolores. Since what he truly wanted was unattainable, he had to venture, prolong if
you will, his experiences with Lo to get everything possible out of each confrontation.
He made it into a perverted game of cat and mouse. Humbert sets up situations where he
and Lolita will be alone. For instance, he would leave the door to his room cracked while
he would write, an almost irresistible piece of cheese for a twelve-year-old curious
girl. Once "the trap works", and Lolita is peering over his notes at his desk, he is so
aware of her every movement (Nabokov 48). He knows the spatial point where every key body
part of hers is at all times. He makes fake movements like scratching an itch, or
yawning, just to get a brief brush of her soft skin. Another gleaming example of this is
when Lolita comes to visit Humbert on the sofa just after his shower. Humbert warns the
reader to "examine its [the situation's] every detail and see for themselves how careful,
how chaste, the whole wine-sweet event is if viewed with…"impartial sympathy"
(Nabokov 57). She brings in an apple, tossing it in the air, and Humbert intercepts it on
the second throw. I need to point out that the apple is the forbidden fruit, and Nabokov
not only uses it purposefully, but also makes a biblical reference to its "Eden-red"
color (Nabokov 58). He is constantly looking for an opportunity to be closer to her; in
this instance, it only took him one throw of the fruit to realize that this could be one.
She mimics his thieving behavior by snatching his magazine, and Humbert immediately
associates this with their destined coexistence and some ill-hearted personality traits
they have in common. 
I can't stress enough how aware Humbert is. He knows what people think of him, and what
to say to calm their nerves. Humbert Humbert has a very good sense of social tact, how to
evade a conversation politely but concisely. He isn't humble about it either, he knows
his own intelligence, and makes sure the audience knows too. He pounds into the reader's
mind that he is physically attractive, very intelligent, and equipped with first-class
social manners. So, as we digress from the obvious, let me talk of yet another
idiosyncrasy Humbert Humbert so viably possesses.
Humbert's jealousy plays such an important role in the story. It causes many things to
occur that perhaps normally wouldn't have. Humbert's jealousy forbade Lolita to
participate in the school play for fear that it would lead to dates with boys her age.
This obviously caused the unannounced visit by a disguised Clare Quilty, putting in
danger Humbert's most enjoyable lifestyle by threatening to have a team of Psychiatrists
observe Lolita's daily home life. Humbert's jealousy was actually a weakness. His fear of
losing her causes him to give into her every whim and desire. Along the many weeks they
spent on the open road, Lolita's both literal and figurative appetite drained Monsieur
Humbert's bank accounts quite rapidly. How could he say no? What choice did he have?
None. When taking into account the immorality of all the things he was receiving on their
voyage, and their inherent value to him, he would have paid any price for the
insignificant souvenirs and pointless tours of monuments they encountered along the trip.
He couldn't risk being caught; it isn't far fetched to imagine Lolita throwing a fit and
spilling her guts to an official for the mere refusal of an ice cream cone Humbert
wouldn't buy her.
So, in coming to a conclusion, I feel that Humbert Humbert isn't crazy, or emotionally
disturbed, but rather a bit vulnerable. His original fling with Annabel had such a strong
impact on him, that from then on, he had a predetermination of what beauty in the
opposite sex was - a nymphet. He has a strange fetish, which he allows to turn into
obsession. Being immoral and illegal, his actions are condemned by all. Imagine all that
he has taken away from a little girl's growing up. He turned her into a personal
prostitute, and forced her to become more mature than anyone her age. In the end, Humbert
Humbert gets what is deserved and goes to jail; but not for reasons pertaining to his
deeds with Lolita. His jealous murder of Clare Quilty finally sees him to his prison cell
where he is sentenced to life. From there, the only way to embrace his obsession is
through writing, and thus we are given the novel Lolita.