“Nothing could make my Lolita forget the foul lust I had inflicted upon her. Unless it can be proven to me- to me as I am now, today, with my heart and my beard, and my putrefaction- that in the infinite run it does not matter a jot that North American girl-child named Dolores Haze had been deprived of her childhood by a maniac, unless this can be proven (and if it can, then life is a joke), I see nothing for treatment of my misery but the melancholy and very local palliative of articulate art.” (pg. 283)
This quote is found directly after the scene in which Humbert encounters Dolores Schiller for the first time since she made her escape. Humbert pleads with her to come back with him and she bluntly states that she would be more willing to take Cue back because he only broke her heart, whereas Humbert broke her life. Following his departure from Coalmont, Humbert seemingly takes full responsibility for his actions for the first time through this demonstration of deep remorse. He finally admits that he has in fact ruined her life by robbing her of her childhood and that there are no measures he could take to rectify the situation.
While this passage seems to be a sincere affirmation of regret on the surface, as a reader I still have a difficult time buying into it. There have been plenty of instances in which Humbert uses his prose to manipulate the audience and I wonder if this is yet another ploy to deceive. I do not discount the fact that he certainly has come a long way from the Humbert we were initially introduced to. Perhaps he genuinely does love her in his own distorted way; however I feel that if he were truly taking on the burden of full responsibility for ruining his Lolita’s childhood, he would not be obsessed with seeking revenge against Quilty. If he believes that he is the guilty one, why does Humbert find it necessary to kill the man who rescued Lolita from the torture that Humbert alone was inflicting upon her?
What is your take on Humbert at the end of this novel? Is he being sincere and does he really recognize the impact that his actions had on Lolita?
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