Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov
Olympia Press
Perhaps in no other novel has the concept of a caress been so toyed with and distorted, making readers question the boundaries and implications of a simple kiss.
But readers of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita haven't always appreciated the line-blurring that its protagonist, Humbert Humbert, forces on us through his intrusive yet eloquent memoir. When it was first published in 1955 it appalled its American audience, and provoked other questions - is this really how America is? No, the public recoiled, certainly not. So why were they so uncomfortable with the novel? It's only fiction, after all.
Enter the eponymous Lolita. An amalgam of bubblegum and soda pop imagery and the newly sexualised teen, she is the paradox of 1950s America. Lolita's pubescent view of the world - skewed by the pop culture of seductive advertisements and her budding awareness of her sexual power - forces readers to re-examine their understanding of 'the kiss'. From tenant to husband to father to guardian to kidnapper to rapist to murderer and back to father again, Humbert Humbert, the paedophile, abducts Lolita, seeking to possess her for his own gratification.
After the death of Lolita's mother, the pair embark on a journey across America in an automobile. The 'filthy things' of their trip are described with such rich, intoxicating language that we, too, are taken on a journey. We become victims of a gross advertisement for an act we cannot condone yet are captivated by. We are forced to acknowledge the uncomfortable image of the erotic child, described through myriad sexualised caresses.
Lolita, initially idolising, then mildly seducing, the scholarly Humbert, is simultaneously victim and perpetrator of her downfall. She scorns Humbert for delaying in kissing her, boasting of her experience in such matters, having had a lesbian encounter at summer camp. Kisses, to Lolita, become bargaining tools for access to candy bars, movie visits, and day trips. With her sultry game-playing, she often appears to have the upper hand. Yet she is also the violated child. This strange contradiction haunts the novel, with its juxtaposition of bold romance and perverted infatuation.