Response to "Lolita"

The novel “Lolita” has been known to be one of the most controversial. It follows the story of an unconventional relationship between a grown man, Humbert Humbert, and a 12-year-old girl, Dolores, better know as Lolita. Despite most readers’ initial reaction of disgust and disapproval, “Lolita” has become a best seller. It has also been turned into a movie, twice. So what exactly is so compelling about such a seemingly horrible situation?
Reading Lolita throws the reader into a moral battle. First of all, the main character of the book writes the story of Lolita from jail. He presents the book, not necessarily to purely document their relationship, but more so to defend himself to a “jury”. Therefore, the reader must take into consideration how much of his story has been adjusted in his favor. Did Dolores really seduce Humbert Humbert first?
However, looking past Dolores’ age and simply examining Humbert Humbert’s love for her still raises questions of morality. Throughout the book, despite times when he expresses anger or disappointment towards Lolita, he still writes of his unwavering love for her.
At one point in his writing, he write Lolita’s name ten times in a row and then writes: “Repeat till the page is full, printer.” He also writes poetry about Lolita;

“Wanted, wanted: Dolores Haze.
Hair: brown. Lips: scarlet.
Age: five thousand three hundred days.
Profession: none, or ‘starlet’.”

This, paralleled with the author’s incredibly romantic style of writing, would make this one of the greatest love stories. However, in love or not, readers cannot look past his forcefulness with Lolita. At one point she is drugged by Humbert Humbert. Several times throughout the book, Dolores exclaims that she would turn Humbert over to the police if she doesn’t get her way. This is a normal way for a young girl to react, especially one in Dolores’ situation. When Humbert doesn’t get his way, however, he tells Dolores that she will be sent away because he is all that she has.
Whether Dolores really loves him back or not, she had no choice and nowhere else to go. If this novel was written from Lolita’s point of view, I think it would have had a different tone throughout. Where Humbert wants to suggest he simply was being punished for being too in love with too young a girl, Lolita’s story might be the opposite. She was a young curious girl when she met Humbert Humbert. To her, sex was just something fun to do. And though she may have thought at some point that she really loved Humbert Humbert, she was really to young to have known. The fact that Humbert Humbert was technically her father figure along as her lover could not have allowed her to be anything but incredibly confused and misguided.
In conclusion, I believe “Lolita” has become such an iconic novel because of our nature as humans to be drawn to things we have labeled unorthodox. “Lolita” is an unfiltered peek into the mind of someone that we would not normally get to experience.