Pale Fire

Vladimir Nabokov is officially insane in my mind. He is so full of himself. I either refused to believe that earlier in the semester or never truly understood this until now. I bet his house was filled with mirrors so he could simply stare at himself and name the many faces he saw (even though it was always him). The index in Pale Fire is quite humorous, considering the fact that he is talking about himself in much of it! I laughed a lot during class today because sometimes I feel as if I am in a state of utter confusion. I am having a very difficult time wrapping my mind around Vladimir Nabokov's works but I am determined to crack some sort of a code soon!

What is his obsession with children....not just girls (or shall I say Nymphets) but children in general!? That is just odd.

Vladimir Nabokov has temporarily complicated my life...end of story. This is clearly my little tangent so I am going to come back to him.

Evil in Lolita

Evil as Metaphysical or Ethical

Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita takes an interesting, yet vague look at the irrelevance of Christian values and morals in general. Is evil metaphysical or ethical? This reflects Nabokov’s personal opinions on this as well through his writing. In Lolita, Humbert Humbert reflects the idea that evil is metaphysical, rather than ethical. By this, it seems that Nabokov is making an attempt to get the reader to see the metaphysical of evil, but it is rather difficult to do so because the reader so easily connects with the characters in Lolita. This connection comes from the characters’ self-subjectivity to inhuman treatment by others.

Through Vladimir Nabokov’s detailed descriptions of Lolita, the reader seems to mindlessly connect and evoke emotions toward the characters, whether they are considered to be “good” or “bad”. The characters are real to the reader; therefore we connect to the ethics of their thoughts and actions as well. Humbert Humbert for example is clearly a pedophile which is clearly shown through his intimate and often sexual descriptions of Lolita. While his descriptions incorporate a sort of beauty, they are also simply unnerving considering the fact that Lolita is a nymphet.

Humbert Humbert explicitly tells the reader that he is obsessed with Lolita. This idea of love in the form of obsession creates what some may refer to as impure thoughts for Humbert.

Humbert’s obsession leads to him having “stolen the honey of a spasm without impairing the morals of a minor. Absolutely no harm done” (Nabokov 62). But is this true? Has Humbert manipulated the morals of Lolita and perhaps harmed her in at least that way? Ethics and/or morals would relate to this issue significantly for some, while in Humbert’s mind it is more abstract and speculative for one to think so. Observing the situation through Humbert’s eyes, it is possible to realize that Lolita has subjected herself to Humbert’s imperious power and allowed him to manipulate her, yet at the same time, it is not manipulation or immorality.

Being that Lolita is a detective story adds a mysterious element to the metaphysical of the story. The abstract makes it more difficult to judge or blame either Humbert or Lolita for the situation or more specifically the act of involving themselves in a promiscuous, adulterous love affair. Virtues become nearly irrelevant when they are obscured by the complex relationship that Humbert and Lolita share. They encourage each other’s behavior by continuing on with their affair even though Lolita can relate to the unethical, whereas it seems Humbert undeniably avoids the ethics or idea of evil.

Lolita is a tragic and comedic representation of ethics and how they vary from character to character. There are many definitions and forms of evil. The perception of evil varies from person to person, therefore creating a complex distinction between whether Humbert’s actions and thoughts were metaphysical or purely evil and unethical. The comedic side to this would perhaps be less concerned with ethics, while the tragic would be more likely to highlight the evil of Humbert to evoke strong emotions regarding ethics.

Short Essays...who is the "best"?!

I have not gotten through all of the short essays, but already I have so many in mind that I would consider to be the "best". Brittini Reid's short essay on Nabokov's references to Nefertiti and the sun God. The first sentence of her essay brought me directly back to Literary Criticism in which we talked thoroughly about the unveiling and what it means. This topic absolutely fascinated me. I was immediately captivated! Her rich connections between these people and Lolita were well thought out and really, what are the chances? 1 in 2? The way in which she described Nabokov's novel as an onion, to be unpeeled by the reader, was a fantastic! I am sure that all of these short essays have some very intelligible points to make, but Brittini's ideas and discoveries within Lolita in relation to Nefertiti and the sun God were interesting, stated clearly and simply, and unveiled more on that subject than I would have. I will more than likely be sucked into reading all if these essays and will have to resist the temptaion of commenting on all.

Awww...it's kind of cute!!!!!!

One website described the waxwing bird as "a treat to find in your binocular viewfield" and stated that they are likely to " show off dazzling aeronautics". Well, don't they just sound magnificent!

One of my teachers in high school was literally OBSESSED with birds, sadly enough I now find them to be only mildly exciting. I did however find it interesting that they can become intoxicated from eating overripe berries (due to the fermentation of alcohol) and perhaps DIE?! I must admit, I don't believe I have ever seen an intoxicated bird before, but what a sight that would be (though they already seem as if they are on something anyway- running into windows and all...). They are also thieves. They steal materials from the nests of other birds. While male waxwings help the female to find a place for the nest, the female makes the decision...sounds familiar.

This sight is quite interesting, I must say...http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/lifehistory

Ensuite?

I decided to post my annotation of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita page 114 because I appreciate the way that Lolita transitions from child to adult so many times. She is stuck between the child who attended Camp Q and the corrupted young lady losing her innocence because of what Humbert has done to her. The way in which she speaks is at times so child-like: "We loved the sings around the fire..." then transitions to a more risque adult tone: "But we are lovers aren't we?" I wonder what goes through Lolita's mind? Does she wish to be a girl again, enjoying the innocence of her days of youth or does she yearn to be this corrupted, violated female? Does she know what they have or are doing?



I am scanning in my annotated page but have to do so once I get home...

"The more you look, the more you see and discover..."

As I read Lolita, I find myself in a daze and constantly re-reading the same passages. There are so many details, so much description that I have to stop often to remind myself what I just read. I am amazed at the discoveries others have found because quite honestly, I never would have paid so much attention to those sorts of things. I was at a loss as to where to start and began to simply research various places or things mentioned I thought might be interesting, which led me to minor yet interesting discoveries, in my opinion.





I looked through many dates and names...nothing held my atttention. Then I came upon Briceland (The Enchanted Hunters). I went to google (of course) and found Briceland in HUMBoldt County. I then found The Humboldt County Biography Project with a long list of names. Similar to the class list there was repetition of names. Interesting enough, all the last names beginning with Q began...QUI. I didn't know how much further to go with this so I switched to shadowgraphs, which Lolita mentioned in her camp experience. I came upon shadowgraph postcards through the trusty wikipedia. This led me to find that shadowgraph postcards were at one time "innocent" images that display a "saucy" image when held up to the light.



Lastly, I found an interesting connection on pages 104 and 109. On page 104, Humbert describes Jean Farlow as "hansome in a carved-inian sort of way, with burnt sienna complexion." On Page 109 Nabokov then metnions the date August 15, 1947 as the ay he attempts to write but gets nowhere because thoughts of Lolita fill his mind- this is the day in which India gained their independence. What are the chances? 1 in 2? 1 in 3?