Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Movie by: Stanley Kubrick
The 1962 version of Lolita was a rare case in which the movie actual performed better than the book. In a quest to get MPAA approval the movie had to tone tone down the sexuality (which in all truthfulness hardly even existed in the book), and relied more on the psychological vengence. In the movie, Humbert's obsession seems to center primarily around his possessive, self-destructive love for his 'nymphet' Lolita; whereas in the book she evolves to become his carnal slave.
In the book, we delve a little more deeply in to the individual characters. All the characters eventually die premature deaths. None of the characters are inherently bad. They are all mostly good people, who try to do the right thing. Unfortunately they place themselves in temptenting situations, and eventually fall to one small sin, which eventually leads to the greater sexual sin, which eventually leads to their premature death. Lolita is on the outside a complex love-traingle with changing players. However, underneath lies sinister horror story. Not so much concerned with death as with the psychological, theological conflict. The characters wonder what evil can be seen coming out of their satisfying of carnal desires. Only later do they relize, that the long-lasting and wide-spread consequences of their acts.
Lolita's mother takes in a foreign boarder in hopes. In itself not a bad act. However, her intentions are less than pure. From the start the romantic inclinations can be seen. She neglets her family, her own daughter, who she mistreets and wishes to avoid at all costs, in favor of a romantic fling with H. H. Her marriage to him seems to be not so much out of love and family good, but out of a carnal desire and quest for power to rule over the household. Her failure to provide a balanced heart-fealt relationship, lead to her mistrust of H.H. which as a direct consequence led to her snooping around in the diary and freeking out. However, instead of trying to resolve the problem, she went beserko, and tried to do everything herself (as has been her prime fault throughout the story), and in this fit of rage she runs out, and is overtaken by a car, thus instantaneously brings about her own death. Throughout, her intentions (she thought) were always the most pure. She desired to have the perfect little family, with the distant, yet well-bahaved little girl. She wanted to do everything herself to make sure it came about exactly the way she wanted it. She failed to take in to account the desires of others.
Humbert has had a rough past, having to undergo treatment, and suffering through a broken marriage. He couldn't forget things and people that had affected him in his past and go on. This inability to erase the past lead to his seaking out of nympettes: young girls with certain quasi-demon like lustful qualities. He accepted the house with Mrs. Haze only apon becoming infatuated with her daughter, Lolita. He obtained thrills from every little nymph-like action she undertook. Had he sought help to control his desires, the problems might have ended. However, he continued to amplify his lustful urges, always keeping in mind the purity of his little nymphette. His first major transgression came about when he agreed to marry Mrs. Haze. He had no love for her, and was only doing so to become closer to Lolita. His side of the relationship, perhaps as much as his wife's was filled with secret entrigue and double-entendre. They had no love for each other. They didn't even really care for each other; they were just running a show each hammering out his own personal desires while hoping that the mate wouldn't do anything to interfere.
He had at times secretly wished for the death of his wife (for after all, death had become some of his previous loves), even planning out a murder. Yet, his conscience would not permit him to bring about the death of another human being, no matter how much he so desired. Eventually, when his wife's accidental death accored, he jumped on the opportunity to seak his little nymph, hiding the truth from her and even creating a false story in the hotel. His conscience was already guilty, before he had actually committed any perverse act. Had he not harboured carnal desires for his nymphette he would have not brought himself in the situation of easy temptation. And even there, he had outwardly decided that he would not do anything to remove her purity (however, inside, he his libido was urging him to do so.) Once, she made the first advance, his mental decision fell (after, he could reason, since she is no longer pure, there can be no wrong in the repition.) Now he had gone in to deep. There could still be escape and return to normality, though it would be very difficult. In the short run, it was much easier to carry out the present course of carnal gratification, roaming the country so as not to arrouse suspision. Eventually settling down, he was forced to bribe his 'daughter' for every act he wished performed. With an outward goal of providing her with the best possible life, he spoiled her with material items, and sheltered her from other possible 'rivals' and 'evil' activities. He grew dependent on the pleasures that she could extend him, and had to bribe her to keep doing so. He also grew extremely jealous, an obvious symptom of a lastful (as opposed to loving) relationship. Instead of seaking a return to normality, he tried to escape the problems, and continue on the sinful trail. Unfortunately, he had been too restrictive with her and now had a rival for her passion.
Quilty, like Humbert adored Lolita. He employed various forms of trickery, at first (in the movie) merely to get her to be able to grow and participate in a play. However, he had futher desires, and eventually resulted in trickery to snatch her from Humbert. Instead of desiring her to go through a transformation to a normal life, he sought her for his own purposes of perversion. Thus she quickly fled. Quilty's perverse life-style led to the kidnapping of Lolita, which as a direct consequence leads to his murder at the hands of Humbert.
Humbert's obsessive lust lead to his own inability to function normally without his Lo. He had to have. His actions had numbed his conscience to the punt that he would now be able to carry out a murder. Upon receiving a letter from Lolita (Mrs. Dolores Schiller), he immediatley assumes that Mr. Schiller is the kidnapper, the person who stole her and her passions from him. He readies a gun for the trip and a quick assassination. He still is obsessed with Lolita. Even though she is married and expecting a child, he cannot let go of her. He makes one last plea. He desires that she return with him, that they become a couple. Everyone else is now insignificant to him. He has become so obsessed with her, that he cannot have anyone else, and cannot see anybody else with her. Little tidbits such as marriage seem trivial. His own sins have already mentally destroyed him. He viewed as his only salvation, a return to the past glory days with Lolita. However, the past is the past, and there is no returning. Now his only goal was to kill the man who had robbed him of his past pleasure. Upon beeing informed that it was Quilty, he sought him out, and went to his house to perform the murder. Not content with a mere killing, he also desired to see him suffer and moan under the same suffering that he had undergone. After draining his gun on Quilty, Humbert was able to walk away, his conscience long since seasing to play a major role in his thought process. He has now totally destroyed. His death in prison was nothing more than the body's delayed reaction to the death of the soul.
Lolita was perhaps the most innocent or perhaps the most guilty of the players. She was a rebellious child. Instead of honoring her parents, she did everything against the desires of her mother. She let peer presure overpower her morals and repeated the deflowering act at camp. Her consceince now weekened by sins and a desire for freedom, fell easy prey to Humberts desires. She used her sexuality to secure all kinds of material benefit at Humberts expense. When this relation finally failed to delight her, she was ready to jump ship again, joining the Quilty camp. Unlike Humbert, her conscience still remained intact, and she was able to remove herself from the perversions of the Quilty group, and began anew her life, trying to hide the past. Unfortunately, she had already lost her childhood, and now was trying to start life anew with a real husband. However, she had already learned too much about the world, and still was clinging to tidbits, though she remained the most reformed of the characters. (Doing, perhaps, to her initial naivity.) However, perhaps as fateful, dramatic irony, she died will giving birth to a still-born infant.
Lolita tells the tragedy of four characters who fall victim of their own sins, and live in closed worlds. Both the book and the movie dwell on this metaphysical horror. Can the soon to be released new movie capture this same magic? Misinterpreting the point, Lolita's character is seen today as a pornographic symbol. However, Nabokov's novel was thematically strong, but physically tame. (Noticably absent from the work were profanity and detailed sexual descriptions.) Will the new movie do the same? Will it succeed in portraying the psychological tradgedy, or will it become yet another Hollywood scum movie? Well, I'm not holding my breath. jh 19 June 1996
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