Up until the recent chapters that we have read in class of Lolita, I have had an inconsistent opinion about who is in the wrong in Humbert and Lolita’s affair. Towards the beginning of the book, I was a sole believer that Humbert was a repulsive man. Every time I completed another chapter, his detailed descriptions of Lolita’s features and the fact that he memorized every measurement of her body caused me to become more disgusted with his character. However, in recent chapters my opinion has unexpectedly and drastically changed.

            After reading chapter 27, I was able to form more fair opinion of Lolita’s character and having done that, she is definitely not the average innocent 12 year old girl. Reading further into the chapters, I honestly forget that Lolita is only 12 years old. Lolita has a lustful nature towards Humbert and she does not hold back when it comes to him at all. I feel that she plays mind games and basically preys on Humbert rather than it being the other way around. Lolita’s actions make it extremely hard for me to feel bad for her. Her actions force me to question my views on whether Humbert and Lolita’s relationship is even wrong anymore. I mean yes, we do know Humbert is committing acts of pedophilia and by pursing Lolita he is committing incest as well but, is what Humbert doing really that bad if Lolita is pursuing him back?

            In many cases, I often find myself trying to distinguish who the victim is in this book. Is it Lolita because she is a 12 year old girl, does not know right from wrong, and is being pursued by a significantly older man. Or is the victim Humbert? A man who is hopelessly in love with a child and is put on trial for the terrible actions that have apparently resulted from this love affair. In class today, it was pointed out that in chapter 29, Lolita is described in a scene in which the shadows of the blinds reflecting on her skin can be connected to jail bars with Lolita being behind them. However, I question if Lolita could be behind the jail bars because they are protecting her and keeping everything bad away away or that she is completely in the wrong and she should be behind jail bars because of her lustful actions. In the case of Humbert and Lolita right now, I feel that there is no victim. I feel that Humbert and Lolita are simply two people who enjoy the immoral acts in which they partake.