The Poem
Here is my stab at deciphering the poetry of Nabokov.
So far themes I have picked up from the poem itself are:
the mirror: doubles, doubling
human and animal metaphors
metaphors of transformation
psychoanalysis
otherworldliness
Nabokov describes "the poem" as something thats different that "plain prose" the same way a nymphette is different than a young girl.
The poetry comes from "heights unknown", which gives off the theme of heavenly, otherworldly powers that provide the inspiration for the poetry, or the poetry to the poet, Lolita is often seen as otherworldly, a nymphette is categorized as a different species.
There are creature references : "leopards of words", "leaflike insects", "eye spotted birds", all things that are not what they seem, that can alter their appearances. Lolita is often described as a creature, and HH often refers to himself as a beast, or various animals.
"fuse and form" are used in the poem, and HH often describes his interactions with L as their fusing into one, their connection.
"mimetic" is also used in the poem, and we are aware of all the various doubles in Lolita (HH and Quilty, Annabel and Lolita, etc)
Nabokov uses the word "cacodemons" in the poem, which means both an evil spirit from the latin root, or in psychology its a form of insanity in which the patient believes they are possessed by an evil spirit. It is also used in Shakespeare's Richard III Act 1 Sc 3 when Queen Margaret calls Richard a cacodemon for his foul deeds and manipulations
this related well to Lolita, HH is possessed by the powers of the nymphette, as well as by the powers of his addiction. At times he believes Lolita is possessed by a demon when she disobeys him or acts like a regular young teen.
the words "carnal pain" are used directly after "cacodemon", physical sexual needs and desires, which seem to control HH, and like Richard III cause him to do foul deeds and manipulations
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
10/22 Lolita- Themes and Winston's Lolita and The Dangers of Fiction
I have been thinking of writing about the themes of Eden and Romantic literary tones/themes/figures such as nature, doubles/doppelgängers, and magic/fantasy in Lolita. Nabokov is constantly discussing nature and gardens in the novel, and even in the descriptions of the Enchanted Hunters are nature references that circle back to these themes. The theme of Eden brings up topics of good, evil, temptation, and the devil, which I find apply to many of the themes of Romantic Literature- I will expand on this in a moment. Book 1 and Book 2 of Lolita seem to be pre-apple and post- apple in their tone and in Humbert's view of himself and Lolita. The nymphette is both the temptation for Humbert and later on the evil that destroys him. The writing changes from light, flowery, confessions of enchantment to resentment, disgust, and trouble. (Link to Eden story from bible: http://www.bartleby.com/108/01/3.html )
Romantic literature often discusses the ideas of the double, or the doppelgänger, which symbolize death and bad luck. Humbert often describes Quilty as his double, and in the end needs to destroy him. Aside from Humbert and Quilty, Lolita is the double of Annabel, and almost everyone is a double. The doubles can never exist in the same space, they must be destroyed, and seeing as how Humbert and Quilty are the same, it leads to Humbert's self destruction. I drew a parallel between the 2 part story of Confessions of a Justified Sinner, and Lolita, (Link to Confessions: http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/p/Prada-Leopard-Print-Mini-Crossbody-Bag/prod93710035/ ) which can be referenced in full in the link. Both have untrustworthy narrators, as well as a 2 part structure that are completely different in tone. In Confessions, Robert and Gil-Martin are one and the same, aka Humbert and Quilty, Both Robert and Humbert are searching for their missing halves, to Robert this is acceptance from his brother George and his father the Laird, to Humbert this is his nymphette's love. But Robert cannot get this half back, and in order to deal with the sins he has done he creates the character of Gil-Martin, aka the devil, and projects all his sins onto him, long story short when he kills Gil-Martin, he is really killing himself and this is the same in Humbert and Quilty. Humbert projects his failings and his desires onto Quilty, and when he goes to murder Quilty he is really murdering his failures, his wishes, his sins, himself. More to come on this comparison as I explore the subject further.
I found Winston's Lolita and the Dangers of Fiction article to match with some of the ideas I am trying to work with. Winston describes Humbert as this kind of Jekyll and Hyde character, the writer and the criminal, a double personality, which is exactly what I am trying to communicate through my topic. Throughout the novel Humbert is trying to control his various sides/characters and has trouble keeping them all in check while maintaining a smooth exterior. Winston also discusses Humbert's need to draw literary parallels to whatever situation he is in at the moment, which also ties into my exploration of fantasy and doubles. Winston discusses Humbert's need to immortalize his nymphettes and himself in his writing, and in doing so he creates many versions, Anabel, Lolita, Charlotte, his own self: John Ray, Humbert, the many variations of Humbert - the hummer, the european, the american, the father, the lover, etc- and finally as Quilty. By forcing himself or obsessing over being the same as other literary figures, Humbert denies reality, and therefore feels less guilt, or no guilt, about his actions, about destroying Lolita's life.
Still organizing my thoughts on the theme but this is the gist so far.
Romantic literature often discusses the ideas of the double, or the doppelgänger, which symbolize death and bad luck. Humbert often describes Quilty as his double, and in the end needs to destroy him. Aside from Humbert and Quilty, Lolita is the double of Annabel, and almost everyone is a double. The doubles can never exist in the same space, they must be destroyed, and seeing as how Humbert and Quilty are the same, it leads to Humbert's self destruction. I drew a parallel between the 2 part story of Confessions of a Justified Sinner, and Lolita, (Link to Confessions: http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/p/Prada-Leopard-Print-Mini-Crossbody-Bag/prod93710035/ ) which can be referenced in full in the link. Both have untrustworthy narrators, as well as a 2 part structure that are completely different in tone. In Confessions, Robert and Gil-Martin are one and the same, aka Humbert and Quilty, Both Robert and Humbert are searching for their missing halves, to Robert this is acceptance from his brother George and his father the Laird, to Humbert this is his nymphette's love. But Robert cannot get this half back, and in order to deal with the sins he has done he creates the character of Gil-Martin, aka the devil, and projects all his sins onto him, long story short when he kills Gil-Martin, he is really killing himself and this is the same in Humbert and Quilty. Humbert projects his failings and his desires onto Quilty, and when he goes to murder Quilty he is really murdering his failures, his wishes, his sins, himself. More to come on this comparison as I explore the subject further.
I found Winston's Lolita and the Dangers of Fiction article to match with some of the ideas I am trying to work with. Winston describes Humbert as this kind of Jekyll and Hyde character, the writer and the criminal, a double personality, which is exactly what I am trying to communicate through my topic. Throughout the novel Humbert is trying to control his various sides/characters and has trouble keeping them all in check while maintaining a smooth exterior. Winston also discusses Humbert's need to draw literary parallels to whatever situation he is in at the moment, which also ties into my exploration of fantasy and doubles. Winston discusses Humbert's need to immortalize his nymphettes and himself in his writing, and in doing so he creates many versions, Anabel, Lolita, Charlotte, his own self: John Ray, Humbert, the many variations of Humbert - the hummer, the european, the american, the father, the lover, etc- and finally as Quilty. By forcing himself or obsessing over being the same as other literary figures, Humbert denies reality, and therefore feels less guilt, or no guilt, about his actions, about destroying Lolita's life.
Still organizing my thoughts on the theme but this is the gist so far.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
The Enchanter
The Enchanter : Nabokov
sorry this is late! I've been sick with a virus...
I've chosen to write about the sections, "the regularity of fluctuations in her heath" and the Spider Dream that ends the chapter. Overall the vibe of The Enchanter was uncomfortable. As a reader with common morals and a sound mind it was difficult to read about this man, his pedophilia, and the twisted workings of his brain without wanting to scream "get it together!". It puts a lot of pressure on the reader to know the workings of the characters brain as he plots.
"The regularity of fluctuations in her health seemed to him to embody the very mechanics of her existence; that regularity became the regularity of life itself;....the faceted transparancy of his deductions had begun to suffer from the ceasless vacillation of his soul between despair and hope, the perpetual ripple of unsatisfied desires, the painful burden of his rolled-up, tucked-away passion- the entire savage, stifling existence that he, and only he, had brought upon himself"
He knows that he has brought this uncomfortable existence upon himself, but is unable to stop once he starts, if even ever at all. It is interesting that he considers her health the only thing that vacillates him between hope and despair, and does not rationally take into account anything else (such as morals, laws, the worry of others finding out) He vacillates until the very end because there is no safe time, his fantasies lead him to beleive they can go be alone and everything will be great but reality proves that there is no right place. What he wants will always be forbidden.
"...when it has all grown totally still, he would lie supine and evoke the one and only image, entwine his smiling victim with eight hands, which turned into eight tentacles affixed to every detail of her nudity, and at last he would dissolve in a black mist and lose her in the blackness, and the blackness spread everywhere, and was but the blackness of the night in his solitary bedroom."
Here lays supine, which is used to describe the girl sleeping in the hotel room before he molests her. And his dream, another fantasy, is not even the kind of dream that has remote possibilities. The spider hands, having 8, that turn to tentacles bring up that animal imagery again. He refers to the girl as his "smiling victim" so first off, a victim not a lover, and in this dark dream figures she would be smiling as he attacks her. Normally one would dream about a person they have feelings for and refer to them as their lover, refer to their interaction as embracing. His dream has no feeling of love to the outsider. It ends with the fading to black, which is almost foreshadowing the end of the book, the impossibility of the situation.
sorry this is late! I've been sick with a virus...
I've chosen to write about the sections, "the regularity of fluctuations in her heath" and the Spider Dream that ends the chapter. Overall the vibe of The Enchanter was uncomfortable. As a reader with common morals and a sound mind it was difficult to read about this man, his pedophilia, and the twisted workings of his brain without wanting to scream "get it together!". It puts a lot of pressure on the reader to know the workings of the characters brain as he plots.
"The regularity of fluctuations in her health seemed to him to embody the very mechanics of her existence; that regularity became the regularity of life itself;....the faceted transparancy of his deductions had begun to suffer from the ceasless vacillation of his soul between despair and hope, the perpetual ripple of unsatisfied desires, the painful burden of his rolled-up, tucked-away passion- the entire savage, stifling existence that he, and only he, had brought upon himself"
He knows that he has brought this uncomfortable existence upon himself, but is unable to stop once he starts, if even ever at all. It is interesting that he considers her health the only thing that vacillates him between hope and despair, and does not rationally take into account anything else (such as morals, laws, the worry of others finding out) He vacillates until the very end because there is no safe time, his fantasies lead him to beleive they can go be alone and everything will be great but reality proves that there is no right place. What he wants will always be forbidden.
"...when it has all grown totally still, he would lie supine and evoke the one and only image, entwine his smiling victim with eight hands, which turned into eight tentacles affixed to every detail of her nudity, and at last he would dissolve in a black mist and lose her in the blackness, and the blackness spread everywhere, and was but the blackness of the night in his solitary bedroom."
Here lays supine, which is used to describe the girl sleeping in the hotel room before he molests her. And his dream, another fantasy, is not even the kind of dream that has remote possibilities. The spider hands, having 8, that turn to tentacles bring up that animal imagery again. He refers to the girl as his "smiling victim" so first off, a victim not a lover, and in this dark dream figures she would be smiling as he attacks her. Normally one would dream about a person they have feelings for and refer to them as their lover, refer to their interaction as embracing. His dream has no feeling of love to the outsider. It ends with the fading to black, which is almost foreshadowing the end of the book, the impossibility of the situation.
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