At one point while I was reading Lolita, I noticed that "existentialism" is mentioned very briefly. Humbert says it in passing, so I first thought of it as nothing. After finishing this novel, I've learned to never take anything Humbert says for granted. We all know that existentialism is the study of existence after learning about this topic earlier in the year, but why would Nabokov make a reference to this study? Looking back, I feel like Nabokov is trying to make the "jury" question the importance of Humbert's existence. Why is it important that Humbert exists?
Despite Humbert’s vile and atrocious actions, he is one of the most intriguing characters I have ever read about. He writes about each of his encounters in such a way that the reader can truly sympathize with him even though his actions may seem unforgivable to certain people. I feel that Nabokov created Humbert to show that such a character can exist. His encounters with Lolita seem so surreal and out of the ordinary, yet at the same time, Nabokov portrays Humbert in a way that the reader can easily agree with him. In this manner, Humbert is the most realistic character that I have ever seen within a novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment