The Power of Suggestion
Nabokov writes with beautiful ambiguity. He uses words in a way that makes the reader question what she just read and, perhaps, turn back to read it again. An example of this is seen in Chapter 13 when Humbert apparently masturbates on the couch next to Lolita while she is oblivious to what he is doing. What is provocative about this scene is that Humbert claims Lolita had “noticed nothing!” yet the words he uses to describe her reaction to his touch are highly reminiscent of discourse describing an orgasm. As he points out her bruise Humbert recalls how Lolita “cried with a sudden shrill note in her voice, and she wiggled and squirmed, and threw her head back and her teeth rested on her glistening underlip as she half-turned away.” (58) It is one of many examples that causes the reader to question what actually happened in the situation. Does Humbert himself even know what happened? Is he shifting the “truth”… or are his memories of the experience what he actually believes to be “real”? There lies a piece of the complexity of Lolita.
Part of what makes Lolita such a literary masterpiece is the words that Nabokov gives to Humbert to defend his case. Humbert is not directly explicit. He does not come out and say, “I masturbated on the couch as Lolita had her legs strewn across me.” He carefully crafts his words to give the reader a pretty good clue as to what happened. The suggestion becomes more powerful that if Humbert had stated the so-called facts in a black and white style.
In light of that it is interesting to read the Sexual Standards set by the Motion Picture Production Code in 1934. They are very specific as to listing what is to be banned in films, attempting to cover all grounds and leave no room for loopholes. It seems those who wrote the code are aware of the power of suggestion and are aware that the simple banning of display of specific acts is not enough to purge the film industry of impurity.
Tags: Humbert, Lolita, suggestion
April 5th, 2010 at 10:27 am
Abby, your points about the ambiguous nature of the particular scene you describe are well-articulated. I also like the connection you make with the Motion Picture Code’s emphasis on specificity as a an attempt to close any loopholes. One question is whether you think their goal is possible, given the “power of suggestion.” Another is whether words differ from images in this respect. Please bring these up for discussion in class tomorrow. And join with Jaslee in discussing the concepts of purity and impurity and Nabokov’s challenge to those concepts (or possible acquiescence at times).