Lolita- pg 49

“For now she was not really looking at my scribble, but waiting with curiosity and composure- oh, my limpid nymphet!-for the glamorous lodger to do what he was dying to do. A modern child, avid reader of movie magazines, an expert in dream-slow close ups, might not think it too strange, I guessed, if a handsome, intensely virile grown up friend-too late.” Pg. 49

I find this quote interesting because up to this point Humbert’s account for his defense has hardly presented us with any rational justification for his actions. We have seen how he uses his prose to somehow lessen the severity of his ideas, and he continues to do so in the following chapters. In this particular quote, he manages to take some of the blame away from himself and direct it instead towards his Lolita. He refers to her as a “modern child” who is undoubtedly influenced by the popular culture of the time; thereby suggesting that his desires are not as absurd was we might believe, because his fantasies could in fact be shared by Lolita. This also sheds light on the issue of the objectification of Dolores Haze. To Humbert, she is merely an object of desire that me must obtained. He never stops to consider the effects that his lust could potentially have on her, but rather assumes that she “might not think it too strange” if he were to pursue her.

It is clear that Humbert’s Lolita has taken a liking to him, but do you think this would be the case if she was fully exposed to all of Humbert’s disturbing thoughts? At this point in the novel, what do you think is the fate of Lolita?