Kay

However, the real kick, the twist, the reason I worship this book on a daily basis mentally, is because of the fact that it expresses its duality gorgeously. There is Lolita, victim. There is Humbert, abuser. These are facts that remain constant throughout the book. But, since this book is from his perspective, there is Humbert, the sad, lonely, intellectual man, handsome and charming and an adolescent fantasy, and there is Lolita, temptress and nymph and magnetic.

While the common thread of criticism seems to be about a lack of condemnation of his actions, the fact that the book is from his perspective explains that well enough. He is, in his eyes, perfectly right in his stance. He is a bewitched sailor at sea, and she the siren.

She is painted as such, too, when seen from his eyes, but when analyzed rationally, for even a minute, her suffering comes into full-view. This is what's simply so addictive about the book, to me. This constant interplay of condemnation and approval.

In the background, Dolores sits, trying her best to escape the constant horrors of her life. In the background, Humbert, literal monster in the body of a man, preys on the little girl. In the foreground, however, his thoughts, his biases, blend into the narration. Beneath the elegantly crafted narrative, the flowery language and shimmering descriptions and multiple self-appraisals and, on the rare, horrifying occasion for the reader, moments of genuine appreciation of the character, for his wit or his wiles, before realizing who he is and what he's done and snapping out of the trance he's managed to put everybody under, lies a maggot-infested corpse, Dolores' innocence decaying at the bare bones of the book.

To expect a man to write a book from his perspective, justifying his crimes, and yet be shocked when he does not condemn himself would be idiocy. but to write a book of this sort, and simultaneously condemn and appraise him, to put him upon a pedestal and crush him beneath the (unfortunately) metaphorical heel would be GENIUS. there, i said it. nabokov is a genius.

BUT. i am not done. i will never be done. i need to personally thank vladimir nabokov (somehow) for having created this magnificent masterpiece, and i need to personally smack everyone whose selective hearing has allowed them to completely disregard his orders for the cover designs. Dolores, his child, being painted on the front cover was not what he wanted.