Lolita begins with a man's thoughts on his love, obsession if you will, for this girl named Lolita. This in depth description of this girl begins with the statement that she is "the light of [his] life, fire of [his] loins. Despite his undieing love for Lolita there was someone that came before her whom this man loved as well. Her name was Annabel. However before he begins the stories of Lolita and Annabel he gives a background of his youth. He was born in 1910 in Paris and his father was "a gentle, easy-going person, a salad of racial genes." The man then goes on to tell about where he lived throughout his youth and tells of his dads decisions as well. After giving the audience a background of himself the man begins to compare Lolita to his first love Annabel. The way he compares to two women in his life is by comparing two different kinds of memories. Annabel was the memory where you could "skillfully recreate an image in the laboratory of your mind" whereas Lolita was a more vivid in depth kind of memory one "you instantly evoke, with shut eyes, on the dark innerside of your eyelids".
Although the man is undeniably in love with Lolita he feels that it is necessary to describe his relationship with his "precursor" Annabel. All at once he describes they were "madly, clumsily, shamelessly, agonizingly in love with each other. However, the love between Annabel and the man seems to be based more off of physical attraction rather than emotional attachment. It seems this way because there are numerous accounts in which the man describes in detail of times they he and Annabel shared alone. Sometime towards the end of their Summer of love Annabel died of typhus in Corfu. Annabel's death haunted the man for an extended period of time until thoughts of Lolita began to consume his mind.
After somewhat recovering from Annabel's death, still consumed with thoughts of Lolita, he begins his life as a college student in Paris. He describes his studies as "meticulous and intense although not particularly fruitful." Meaning he had a hard time deciding which major he was going to stay with. He began college with a desire to study psychiatry but then was convinced to switch to English Literature. After getting out of college he taught a group of adults as well as a class of boys English Literature. While still consumed with thoughts of Lolita he tried taming those thoughts by going to orphanages or reform schools and looking at "pubescent girls with matted eyelashes." Through his observations he created the idea of "nymphets." A nymphet is a girl between the ages of 9 and 14 who "reveals [her] true nature which is not human but nymphic" to men two to three times the girl's age.
After briefly reading this book I have come to realize that this book is going to be very interesting. it seems interesting, however, in a disturbing way. There is a lot of talk of men well into their nineties trying to court 9 and 14 year olds. Although this may not have been as odd in that time period, customs have changed making these facts very disturbing. Even more disturbing, is his obsession with Lolita (a girl who seems to be much younger than him). His detailed accounts of the way she looks adds to the disturbing feel of the book. Despite the disturbing aspect of the book, it contains a lot of imagery and description. I like a lot of description because it helps me paint a picture in my mind, helping me better understand the events in the story. Also the vivid details help make the book more intersting. Overall, the book seems very interesting and seems like it will end up being a very entertaining book to read. I will keep you updated on my thoughts as I continue to read through the book!
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