Speak Memory Chapter Seven: Part 3

In this scene Nabokov describes a short romance he had as a child with a girl named Colette. In a way, Colette was Nabokov's Annabelle when relating Speak Memory to Lolita. Just as Humbert recalled falling in love as a child on vacation at the beach, so does Nabokov. Nabokov writes, "I met Colette, I knew at once that this was the real thing. Colette seemed to me so much stranger than all my other chance playmates at Biarritz!" (149). I wonder if Nabokov's childhood romance was inspiration for the character Annabelle in Lolita. The similarities between the two girls seem all too obvious. Nabokov's love for Colette is an example of innocent infatuation. He talks about how he had a gold coin which in his head was enough money to support them if they were to run off together. The simplicity of this love and the fact that there is no fear of heartbreak of getting hurt because it is not real love, makes this part of the book so memorable. It is interesting to look at life as we grow up and how complicated things get. And then to look back at our childhoods and the simplicity and think how we miss it. The whole time I was reading this I could not stop picturing Humbert and his memories of being a child. And also, my own memories as a child playing with other children on the playground. As well as my short romances when I was young and how "in love" you can feel even if that is not real love. This part of the book was one of the warmest memories of Nabokov, recalling young love and it makes him extremely relatable.