2019 Year 12 IB Extended Essays

Humbert and Quilty also share much in common; the similarity in their sexual tastes and the bizarre, almost hallucinatory atmosphere each time they meet. ‘With these hints we are invited to believe that Humbert first invents Quilty to take on the majority of his own guilt, who he then kills, to purge himself symbolically’ (Green, 1966). This reveals that the reader should not take the narrative literally and that Humbert is clearly unstable. Humbert also continues to ponder “It was high time I destroyed him (Quilty), but he must understand why he was being destroyed. His condition infected me … like some old nightmare of mine” (p.297-302). From this, one can deduce that Humbert’s perception of reality is tarnished. The way Humbert physically perceives himself is also an indication of the mental unrest he suffers. At the start of the novel he describes himself as “lanky, big-boned and woolly-chested”, “a hunk of movieland madness”, whilst nearing the end of the novel he describes himself as “the distant elegant, slender, 40yr old valetudinarian in a velvet coat”. The more virile and masculine traits have been transferred to Lolita’s husband, which creates a stark contrast with Humbert. This emphasises the point that due to his mental instability, Humbert is not a reliable source. His personality has been severed and distributed into several actors (Quilty as well as Dolly’s husband) which dramatises Humbert’s self-punishment and self-hatred, revealing how Humbert consciously refuses to accept that his actions are wrong. However his subconscious accepts this wrong as demonstrated from the struggle when dealing with his actions. By integrating this mental torment, Nabokov not only humanises Humbert, but reveals to the reader the unusual and unique perspective of the offender in paedophilia. Again this links to the purpose of the novel Nabokov was aiming for; perhaps to expose how a paedophile’s mind works, the situation through their eyes.

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