Hesitation

"Oh, I could visualize myself slapping Valeria's breasts out of alignment, or otherwise hurting her-and I could see myself, no less clearly, shooting her lover in the underbelly and making him say 'akh!' and sit down. But I could not kill Charlotte-especially when things were on the whole not quite as hopeless, perhaps, as they seemed at first wince on that miserable morning." -p. 87

This was such a peculiar scene, because Humbert has such violent tendencies. When he devises his plan to try and kill his current wife, he suddenly remembers how he could do such acts of violence against his former wife, but not his current wife. Humbert formulates what seems to be the perfect plan, but can not fork up the courage to conduct the act. It's almost as if, he has developed a connection and almost an attachment to Charlotte. Throughout the novel, Humbert's main goal had been to work his way into Lolita's life, and he has succeeded by becoming her stepfather. However; during that time, he, also, developed a relationship with Charlotte, and it seems like he has met his match. When Humbert marries Charlotte, he completely conceals who he is and formulates numerous lies and stories. Humbert seems to be almost scared of Charlotte, because he believes that "her ghost would haunt me all my life" is he were to kill her.

However, Charlotte is killed in a car accident, and now there is just Humbert and Lolita. Will her daughter, Lolita, have the same personality as her mother, and be able to keep Humbert at bay?