Humbert the (Mad) (Creator)
This being my second time reading Lolita, I went for an annotated version, that I might pick up on a few of the frequent and obscure references dispersed throughout the novel, or at least have the translations of Humbert’s French conveniently compiled. Similarly, in approaching the text from a more critical readership, I expected this time to be more resistant to Humbert’s seductive voice. But his crystal-clear conception of his socially scornful sexual preference is (alas, alas) a veritable turn-on for me.
Throughout the first-half of the novel Humbert purposefully attempts to convince the reader of his normality, often accomplishing this task through confession. For example, when Humbert first embarks on relaying the entries of his lost pocket diary, he quickly deems it necessary to briefly justify the task: “I know it is madness to keep this journal but it gives me a strange thrill to do so” (42). Here, he confesses to the reader why he enjoys confessing to himself, which all takes place within the grand framework of his principle confession that is Lolita. While we may look at this inclination more critically as a product of Scientia Sexulias, Humbert succeeds in his own motives: to distract the reader by confessing explicitly his own mad tendencies. Often, when someone says that they are insane, people will not take the statement literally, especially if the person laying the claim can craft a sentence like our Humbert here. So, in his overt avowal, Humbert charms the reader with his honesty rather than scares them with his self-proclaimed madness.
As another self-affirming tactic, Humbert incorporates creation mythology into his narrative. His frequent allusions to the story’s main figures and themes (Adam, Eve, the Devil, snakes, demons, gardens, apples) reveal his compliance with recognized discourse and symbolize his hope to secure a sacred sphere for him and his Lolita. In other words, in one way his referencing of creation mythology reflects a person well versed in common ideology, while in another, it shows his constant state of self-absorption. Many of Humbert’s creation references compare himself either to Adam or the Devil. When he gets an erection while spying on nymphets in the park, he refers to his book as his “fig leaf” (20). This alludes to Adam & Eve in the garden when they first gain their human consciousness and effort to cover themselves in their newfound modesty with fig leaves.
While the preceding example clearly points to Humbert perceiving himself as Adam, elevated to a position of creator, there are also a multitude of instances in which he attributes to himself snake-like qualities, reminiscent of the Devil-serpent who tempts Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. In response to the publicity from Humbert and Charlotte’s marriage, he says that it made his “rattles shake with awful glee” (75). ‘Rattles,’ thanks to my annotated Lolita, are the part of the rattlesnake that make the rattling sound, which clearly alludes to his evil serpent-like character. This example reveals that Humbert just as eagerly embraces the positive attributes of Adam as he does the Devil.
Humbert’s reliance on such strong cultural norms and ideologies such as confession and the creation myth add to his character’s complexity. On the surface these techniques reflect normal behavior, but his unconventional employment of them, confessing madness and professing first to be Adam and then to be the Devil, reveals his multi-faceted nature. It’s also interesting how he approaches his own medicalization with a similar ambivalence. He clearly thinks he needs the sanatorium, and yet he doesn’t engage in the process whole-heartedly. What does this say about a culture steeped in Scientia Sexualis? Are we doomed to Humbert-like ambivalence regarding the engagement in discourse of personal truth?
And a poem I wrote, inspired in part by the reading…
No round of Speed Doubler,
not even a double back stitch
at the waist can cause
an expiration in
the swelling breaths, pumping
intravenous masses,
rhythmic constellations
painting our skin in hidden
languages of gradating pigment
pre-cancerous moles,
unsinkable scars
This one is from when I tried to scratch
away the cosmic imperfections
projected onto my flesh and failed–
instead made a mess,
seven summers later
a fussy, mussed-up wreck,
russet-rendered all except
for a band-aid patch of pale
skin, untouched
but felt free.
Tags: Adam & Eve, Confession, creation mythology, Lolita, medicalization, Scientia-Sexualis, Vladimir Nabokov
March 19th, 2013 at 10:02 am
I think you hit upon something, Sophia, when you mentioned Humbert’s extensive use of French interspersed throughout the text. As someone who has suffered through French grammar classes for six years, I was ecstatic at the chance to put them to good use. However, I think the point of the text (apparently it isn’t only my edition) and the editor’s decision not to translate the French renders another aspect to the novel. Humbert comes across as more genteel, educated, and erudite, exactly the manner in which he would like to present himself. The non-Francophone will feel muddled and come to view Humbert as an authority figure in a position to educate him/her on the finer things in life- only, some of Humbert’s varied passions are not as fine.