The Immaturity of the Pervert

"The enamel had come off the bedstead, leaving black, more or less rounded, marks on the white. Having convinced myself that Louise had left, I got into Lo's bed and reread the letter."
-page 69

This passage stood out to me because it shows yet another facet of Humbert's character- immaturity. The image of a man crawling into the bed of a little girls in order to be comforted is both funny and confusing. For why would a man, pervert or not, need to physically lay in the scent of his lovers? The fact that Lolita is a child is almost irrelevant, although the image of a grown man lying in a little girls bed is quite the image. This act is one that a child would do, while missing their parents or older siblings. If one were to see a child do this, one would immediately reach out to them and comfort them with "Everything will be okay." However, Humbert is not a child. He is a grown man. So the sympathy that would have been felt if he were younger is transformed into certainty that this man is pathetic. Interestingly enough, the act being described is juxtaposed by the sophisticated writing style of Humbert. Earlier on in the book it was easy to see Humbert as a full fledged man with the gross obsession with girls due to this writing style. I viewed his obsession (and therefore him) as disgusting for the mere fact that I thought him to be an adult. After reading this passage, my feelings towards Humbert changed. I viewed him now as more of a child himself, and somehow his obsession made sense. I now began to almost feel sorry for Humbert, to be a child stuck in a man's body, while still being disgusted by him.

In this passage, Nabokov provides us with information that makes us understand Humbert's obsession with young girls. However, do you believe he is also trying to evoke sympathy for Humbert within the reader, or is he merely trying to make us understand the situation? If this book were not discussing pedophilia, would this feeling be easier to evoke?