Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The Annotated Lolita Post 1

The fact that Nabokov's Foreword to Lolita is written by a fictional character immediately makes the reader question what is true and what is false. It confuses the reader into the possibility for the time sake that you are reading Lolita that it is a novel of truth. Lolita is written as the memoir of Humber Humbert.  John Ray, Jr whom is the character that has "written" the foreword is the cousin of Humbert Humbert's lawyer. John Ray, Jr writes how H. H. dies of coronary thrombosis in prison awaiting his trial for a crime that is not named.

It is interesting how John Ray, Jr immediately condemns Humbert Humbert's actions. He states, "I have no intention to glorify "H.H." No doubt, he is horrible, he is abject, he is a shining example of moral leprosy" (5). However, with saying that he does admit that although wrong, Humbert Humbert's love for Lolita was honest and real. He also goes on to explain Humbert Humbert's language and how it is the tenderness with which he speaks that makes readers keep coming back to this book. When I read this I thought of Nabokov as a writer. Even though he states many a time that he tries to separate his characters from himself. For example, Nabokov is a Lepidopterist and made it clear that the character H.H. knows nothing about Lepidoptera. But it is Nabokov's skills as a writer and his superb use of language that captivates readers even though the subject matter is unpleasant and morally wrong. And makes them keep coming back to this novel as well as others.

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