Humbert Humbert
addresses the ladies and gentlemen of the jury and the reader several times in
the novel, which makes me question whether the reader is the jury. Are we, the
readers, the jury determining H.H.’s guilty, or are we reading evidence from
Humbert’s trial? Could this be something completely different? Humbert Humbert
admits to murder (Humbert says, “Guilty of killing Quilty”) and to raping a 12
year-old girl; therefore, he is guilty and belongs in prison, right? At the
same time, I sympathizes with Humbert (he wants to be with the love of his
life), and if I am the jury, I do not know if I would vote guilty.
It is clearly evident that Humbert
Humbert is trying to seduce the reader into accepting his relationship with
Lolita. He says, “O, Reader, My Reader, guess!” (Nabokov 154), which shows he
is not only claiming us but enticing us to read on. If the reader is the jury,
Humbert’s pleas make sense; comparatively, what if we are not the jury? Why
would Humbert want us on his side? I think Humbert’s European nature makes him
charming all the time meaning he cannot control himself. He is constantly
suave, sophisticated, and attractive on intellectual and emotional levels,
which forces us to read on. No one knows what will happen next, because despite
all of Humbert’s foreshadowing, H.H. never reveals any information. Humbert
might not try to seduce the reader; he might just seduce.
Personally, I think the intended
audience is a jury, but I also do not believe H. H. is purposely manipulating
the jurors or the readers. Even with Charlotte, Humbert did not try to make
Charlotte fall in love with him; he just did, which is his nature.
I cannot help but to agree with you completely. While reading Lolita, I have come to the conclusion that there is no real jury or court room, but Humbert Humbert is trying to persuade us as the readers on a decision of guilty or not guilty. We are the jury. As you said, I do not know if I would vote guilty as my verdict. Humbert Humbert is constantly doing illegal actions (rape, plotting murder, lying about identity) but I somewhat feel sympathy for Humbert. He is just a man who wants to be with the woman, or girl, he loves. From the perspective of a man, I feel that Humbert is going along the masculine instinct to do anything he can to be with the one he loves. While Humbert does try to seduce the reader, this is just his natural behavior and he cannot help it. I do not feel he is trying to take advantage of us, but using his ways to prove to us that he is not guilty, just in a situation the average person cannot understand.
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